The Story of the World vs. The Mystery of History

We have been using The Story of the World for several years and really like it overall. However, I keep hearing about The Mystery of History, and decided to take a look at it to see what it was about. One thing I did like was that I was able to purchase the Mystery of History audio book via immediate download one quarter at a time. At $8 each, they're also relatively inexpensive. If you are looking for a program that emphasizes biblical history, then you will love Mystery of History. However, having previously studied the very same time periods with Story of the World, I found the basic history to be much weaker. I enjoyed listening to the audio book, and feel that it would be awesome as a bible study, with a bit of non-biblical history thrown in. But, if you want a stronger non-biblical history program, I would highly recommend Story of the World. All in all, they are both very well rounded and well thought out products. I like them both, but don't feel that I would choose MOH over SOTW. I think SOTW is much more thorough and contains much more information.

Nature Club

This month we headed back to see what changed the warm weather has brought to Audobon Acres. We had a wonderful afternoon taking a nature walk, learning about the things we found, and visiting with friends.


Adam found a huge snail!


We saw lots of interesting plants and flowers, several turtles in the creek, and some interesting moss that seemed to catch the kids attention.

Audio Book Learning

Audio books! I'm amazed at how well my kids listen when I pop an audio book in the CD player. We've recently started looking for more lessons available in an MP3 downloadable version in order to take advantage of all the "wasted" time we spend daily going from place to place. Rather than me reading a history lesson, I can download it, burn it on a CD and then play the lessons while I drive. We don't just use this for lessons though, we've also found a wealth of great audio books available through our local library. We recently borrowed the Adventures of Brer Rabbit and my kids were enthralled! Not only are they quiet and well behaved in the car, but their learning too. Give it a try and I'm sure your kids will enjoy it too! Its a great way to squeeze in some additional learning and great literature into your already busy day.

Week in Review

WOW, what a busy week we had! We had tech week all week in preparation for the play on Friday and Saturday. That means that we had practice every night, and they lasted longer. We were busy helping out behind the scenes with painting on Monday, and I spent quite a bit of time both Tuesday and Wednesday sewing our costumes. We squeezed in as much school work as we could. Friday morning we had our first performance, followed by another on Friday night. Saturday was spent going to the cast party and then our last performance Saturday night. Its always sad when plays are over, but its also a relief. I'm flat worn out! Now to get to work and finish out the school year!

The Hobbit

Sorry for not posting as regularly lately, but we've been busy! My entire family, including myself, are in the middle of preparing for the opening of the play The Hobbit. This will be mine and the boys acting debut. We play the women and children of Laketown, which should really be a difficult part for me, right? My husband plays Bard the Bowman and gets to kill the dragon Smaug. Our first performance is Friday, April 16th. We've spent the past few days helping out behind the scenes with paper mache' and painting. I've also been busy sewing our costumes. I'm worn out already!

Drama in your homeschool.

For those of you who may not know me or my family, one of the things we enjoy being involved in is the theater. My husband has been in way too many plays to name, and obviously passed his love of theater on to his children. Our oldest had her acting debut this past Fall in Charlotte's Web. We signed her up for a 6 week homeschool drama class recently and she absolutely loves it! I'm just amazed at how many homeschooled children are involved in theater. Its not just the kids, but their entire families that are involved. You'll find them doing everything from directing to set and costume design. Since quite a few homeschooled children tend to "march to the beat of a different drum" so to speak, the theater is a great fit. Their differences make them fit right in and really shine! I really feel that it helps build my childrens' self confidence and overcome shyness. You get to interact with people of all ages and backgrounds. Even though the schedule can be rigorous, I truly recommend giving drama classes and the theater a try.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid Movie Review

Can I just say how much I enjoyed this movie? Having never read or even really heard of this book series, I went to this movie with absolutely no idea what it would be about. My daughter had her very first sleepover at a friends house, and the mom (a good friend of mine) suggested that the girls might enjoy going to see this moving the following day. I decided to take the twins and tag along. As a homeschooler, I now seriously doubt any of my children will EVER want to enter middle school. This movie is so funny, albeit somewhat gross in parts. My twins are just 6 and they laughed throughout the entire movie. Basically, its a lighthearted look at family life and the joys of middle school. As a bonus, one of my twins has decided that he now wants to read the book series. I'm not overly strict about movies in general, as long as they keep the language, topics, and nudity out of it, I'm good. This one didn't have anything in it to make me worry. In fact, I think we might have to purchase it on DVD when it's released.