Time 4 Learning

I've been invited to try Time4Learning for one month in exchange for a candid review. My opinion will be entirely my own, so be sure to come back and read about my experience. Time4Learning can be used as a homeschool curriculum, for afterschool enrichment and for summer skill sharpening. Find out how to write your own curriculum review for Time4Learning.

Monday Morning Musings...

Can you believe that its February 28th already?  Where on earth did the time go???  I feel like just yesterday it was Christmas.  This week will be interesting for us because I've now got two more sick kids.  We have doctors appointments this afternoon to confirm whether or not Ryan shared his strep throat with them.  We're also getting close to the end of practices for the play the kids are in.  Its called The Fabulous Fable Factory.  Two weeks until showtime! 

This week we'll be continuing our study of chemistry using Gravitas Publications.  We're also working really hard on multiplication memorization this week.  Just hoping and praying everyone stays well enough to keep us on track.

Week in Review - Sick Kids & Fun with Atoms!

This week has been a crazy one at our house.  Poor Ryan got sick over the weekend and had to wait until Tuesday to get in to see the doctor.  I thought he had a nasty cold, but it turns out he has strep throat and a double ear infection too.  Fun times!  Now we're just hoping he keeps it to himself and spares the other two.

I'm trying something a bit different for science this week...you know me, I'm always looking for something fun and exciting to do. Well, we are trying out Real Science 4 Kids from Gravitas Publications.  I'm impressed so far and the kids seem to really enjoy it.  I can totally see my kids picking up the text and reading it on their own just for fun.  Friday we did an experiment on atoms and molecules.  The kids used marshmallows to make molecules following the rules given on the lab sheets.  What started out as a fun way to learn about how molecules always follow the rules quickly turned into something completely different.  What can I say, when you give kids toothpicks and two sizes of marshmallows, you're bound to have some fun, right?

Ryan made some sort of really cool molecule with lots of connections.  He said it looked like a snowflake.  What do you think?

Adam did a better job of following the rules.  Haley on the other hand had a great time making molecule giraffes.  Here she's working on the baby giraffe.  See the mommy giraffe in the front?

Who knew that chemistry could be so much fun.  First you read something, discuss it, then you do a fun lab.  They were supposed to draw pictures of their "molecule creations" for their science notebooks, but they ended up eating them before they drew them.  This series of Science books is such fun!  I highly recommend trying it out.  There are 3 levels, and each level includes the text, teachers guide and lab book.  Each level includes biology, chemistry and physics.  You can sample all of the products online, and most everything is available as an instant download.  Gotta love that!  If you'd rather have a hard copy you can go that route too.  Their prices are very reasonable.  http://www.gravitaspublications.com/products

I think the funniest thing about learning about atoms was Adam laughing over his name sounding the same.  He kept saying "I'm Adam and I'm made from atoms."  Too funny!  Hope all of you had a great week as well.

Confessions of a book-aholic...

Yes, I'll admit it, I'm a total book-aholic.  I would rather read a book than watch a movie any day of the week.  I've been this way as far back as I can remember.  My mother is a book-aholic.  So is my grandmother.  Thankfully I've also passed this lovely trait on to my own daughter.  We catch her reading in bed almost every night when she is supposed to be sleeping.  Some nights she'll fall asleep mid page, with the book on her chest.

I have always loved fiction.  Some of my go to authors are Danelle Steele, Nora Roberts, James Patterson and Barbara Freethy.  However, after my lifelong love of this type of fiction, I picked up another type a few short months ago after reading about A Time to Embrace by Karen Kingsbury on another blog.  I haven't read anything by any other author since that time.  I'm hooked!  Not only are her stories completely awesome, but they actually inspire you.  I am so completely addicted to her books that when my mother and I stopped by her local library in Florida, I quickly headed back and checked out their selection of Karen Kingsbury books.  I lucked up on two I hadn't read yet and quickly snatched them up.  Two books in the three days I had left on our trip.  Was I up to the challenge?  No problem...I finished them both with time to spare.  Here are some of my personal favorites:

1. A Time to Dance (the first book of hers that I read and the one that hooked me forever)
2. A Time to Embrace
3. Dandelion Dust
4. Waiting for Morning
5. A Thousand Tomorrows
6. Oceans Apart
7. When Joy Can to Stay
8. One Tuesday Morning
9. Beyond Tuesday Morning
10. Shades of Blue

I could keep going and going.  Thankfully she's written a ton of books, some of which are being made into movies!  To be honest, I've yet to read even one of her books that wasn't completely awesome.  Some are sadder than others, some are more inspiring, but they are all excellent books.  Having read something so meaningful, its hard to look at my previous book preferences the same.  They seem lacking in some way.  Karen's books are written from a christian perspective.  They portray real life circumstances and seemingly real people.  These books cover some serious subjects such as death, abuse, abortion, adoption, autism, Down's Syndrome, alcoholism, infidelity and so much more.  They portray real, everyday people dealing with tragedy, heartbreak, love lost and found, but most of all finding their faith in God. These books are hard to put down once started, and ones that you will never forget.  They truly are "life changing fiction" at its finest.

But you know what I like best about the books and Karen Kingsbury?  She's a christian.  She shares her faith and love of God with her readers in each and every book she writes.  She's also a homeschool mom just like me.  Someone I can relate to.  Now if only I had her writing talent!!  She also tends to write multiple stories on the same characters, so you really get to know them.  They become real to you as you watch them change and grow.

So the next time you're looking for a good book to read, check out one of hers.  You will not be disappointed!

Product Giveaway on Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers

A fellow homeschooling mom and the owner of my favorite blog has done a review and is giving away an awesome product from Guidecraft. As a science buff, I really like this product. Its called the Modular Science Center.

You can find Kris' review of this super cool product on her blog, Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers.

My homeschool group's nature club would have so much fun with this product! We have children of all ages and I could see them having a blast with the "touch and feel station", the acrylic magnifier and the habitat unit.

If you'd like a chance to win this awesome product for yourself, head on over to Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers and enter to win. Good luck!

Lapbooking with Live & Learn Press

Lately, I've been trying out lapbooking with the kids. We have been studying science using Apologia's Zoology 1, Flying Creatures of the Fifth Day. I started out by simply reading from the text, and then a couple of days later reviewing what we had read. The kids simply weren't retaining what we read. So...I decided some hands on learning was needed. After looking around and seeing a link in a homeschool chat group I'm in, I found my way to Live & Learn Press.



I purchased the lapbook that went along with the Apologia book we're using. We then proceeded to make a lapbook to go with the first few lessons. I did leave out a few items, and also added in a few others that I found online and in my Apologia Notebook. But, the kids really enjoyed making the books, like to look back through them, and really seem to retain what we learned. Mission accomplished!



Although lapbooking is time consuming, and requires lots of printing, cutting, pasting, folding, and writing, I do feel its well worth it. Live and Learn Press has layout suggestions for you, along with complete instructions for each step of the way. The graphics used are bright, colorful, and engaging for the kids.



Because I'm working with two seven year olds who don't particularly like to write, we do a lot of copywork when lapbooking. One of my boys really dislikes coloring, so having the graphics all colored and ready to go is a real asset.



My daughter, who's 10, is able to do the same work as the boys, but she can look up the answers on her own using the textbook.



Live and Learn Press offers lapbooks for all of the Apologia science texts. The price for either an e-book which can be downloaded immediately, or a CD, is $25. They also offer lots of other lapbooking products in a range of different subjects. If you haven't tried lapbooking before, you might want to give it a try!

Teaching Textbooks Review

When it comes to math for the kids, I've pretty much always stuck with Saxon across the board. When Haley was in school during first grade, they used Saxon. I decided to stick with it when she came home and have used it ever since. However, Haley absolutely hates math. When a friend of mine started using Teaching Textbooks, and after seeing it mentioned in various blogs and groups I'm in, I decided to take a look. Well, lets just say that I was seriously impressed. After much deliberation, we opted to change Haley to Teaching Textbooks 4 for this school year. We've been using it now for about 3 weeks and so far we're both loving it.

I asked Haley, age 10, what she liked about the program. Here's what she said:

"I like that all of the work is done on the computer, rather than a written worksheet. I like the little characters that perform tricks, etc., when I get a problem right. I really enjoy the picture puzzles and the bonus rounds. I love that it makes math fun. I think that all kids that don't like math and are bored with their written work, should try this program. Teaching Textbooks rocks!"

Here's what I like best about the program:

• I no longer have to do her lesson separately from the boys. She simply sits at her desk with the laptop and headphones and does her lesson all by herself. If she has a question, the program will help her through it, or she can simply stop and ask me for help.
• The awesome gradebook!  All of the lessons are graded and I can check her work after she completes the lesson to make sure she finished it and see how she did.  
• Time savings!  It is a HUGE timesaver for me since I'm teaching three children at the same time.  I seriously feel like I'm cheating! 

Teaching Textbooks has wonderful online samples of their products. I highly recommend checking them out. Better yet, let your kids try it. My twin boys can't wait to get started on Teaching Textbooks 3 next year. You can see the full line of products available here.

Currently they offer math lessons beginning in 3rd grade through 7th grade. They also have pre-algebra, algebra 1 and 2, geometry and pre-calculus. Prices range from $99.95 to $184.90, depending on the level you choose and whether you purchase the book along with the disks. We purchased the book, but have yet to need it or use it. I feel that you could simply use the disks alone and have scratch paper available if needed. Although the program is slightly more expensive than Saxon, I can use it with all 3 of my kids and not purchase anything else. So, less than $100 for all three kids is a good value in my opinion.

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.

Testing, testing...

Can I just say how stressed I am over the upcoming annual testing my daughter has to do? This will be the first year we've had to test, and I think I'm way more stressed about it than she is. I think she'll do fine with most of the subjects, but I'm not so sure about math. She has had the hardest time memorizing the times tables. I just purchased an online game called Timez Attack that I hope will help her. So far all of my kids are loving it. Its by far the best online game I've seen. She asks to do it rather than her regular math lesson. I don't let her of course, but I'm all about games that teach! I really think that my boys will get into this game as well. That way I'll be ahead of the game when they get ready to do multiplication. Check out the graphics in this game! It seriously looks like something you'd see in a video game.





By the way, in case you were worried about the game being violent, its totally not. The troll will shoot you with green slime if you don't answer the question fast enough, but that's it. He just looks scary. The full version of the game available for instant download is just $39.99, but you can get the base version for free...even better!

Wednesday Review

After seeing a link for Startwrite on another blog, I just had to check it out. Let's just say that my twin's handwriting leaves something to be desired... Well, after downloading the full trial version and printing out just about anything and everything I could think of, I have to say that I really like it. Not only that, but my kids who HATE writing, actually asked to do more pages. One of my twins has now started writing everything in cursive just from one page of cursive writing that I printed from Startwrite. I can only begin to imagine all of the uses I could find for this program! If you haven't tried it yet, you really should!



You get to try out the complete program once. Then, if you like it, you can purchase the full program for $39.95. It comes with just about any font you could think of, along with several sizes to choose from. The worksheets can have lines that you simply trace, lines with directional arrows to help them learn letter formations, dots, and many more. You can even customize the pages by adding in graphics. You simply type what you want them to write, and VOILA...instant copywork practice for any subject. This is now on my wish list!