I found a new website

It is pretty rare that I run across a "new" website that sells curriculum and interests me, but I found this one and thought that I would share. They also have an affiliate program if that interests you.


Great Deals on School & Homeschool Curriculum

It looks like they have a lot of teacher resources that might not be applicable for homeschoolers, but I found several interesting preschool products. I think that it is always a good idea to keep your eyes open for new things to use while teaching and thought that I would pass this place along!

Tapestry of Grace

Tapestry of Grace is a multi-level, integrated, 4-year classics based Christian curriculum for the whole family.

I have spent many years hearing about TOG but I hadn't ever had opportunity to check out their products. So I don't forget, you can do that now by seeing the samples that they have on their website!

The new Tapestry of Grace is completely digital. When you purchased the digital version you download it straight to your computer. Due to some copyright issues, this is a rather complicated process, but not difficult (I managed with no problems and am not computer literate)! It is my understanding that they have streamlined the process since I did my download so I am sure the issues are being resolved. The TOS crew was able to bring downloading issues to light for them as we were trying out their new product! I am sure that will make the process easier for those who follow.

Anyway, you purchase the Level and Units that you would like to use. We chose Year 3 Unit 2 (begins with John Adams through the pre-Civil War). Although the rest of the program is "there" the security measure only allow you to open what you have purchased. Interesting, huh? Anyway, your unit begins with an overview of the topics that will be covered. Then each week is laid out with the weeks topic and the resources to be used for each "grade" level. Writing assignments, study questions, teachers notes, worksheets (for literature and grammar), beginning geography information and supplements for the literature assignments are included. This is a very thorough curriculum. As far as I can tell, they have covered everything!

There are 4 units in a year and each digital unit costs $45. That makes the total yearly cost for a unit $180. This cost doesn't include the books that they are required to read. There are also supplements for map work, writing and literature at an additional cost for each year/unit. The whole year's worth of Units are available in print for $225.

I found the lesson plans to be difficult to navigate. There are decisions that need to be made by the teacher as to the level children are assigned, what books they are going to read, etc. I just didn't have time to make those decisions so frequently. I also don't have the time to acquire the needed resources (either through purchasing or the library). Although I found the downloading simple I just can't function with lesson plans on my computer; nor can I assume the cost of printing them. I can't justify the cost for "just a teacher's manual" although I do agree that it contains much in the way of background information and teacher's notes. I feel that I couldn't purchase this item and then have to spend more money on the books that are needed for the program.

With that said, I know many people who love TOG. If you are wanting to keep all of your children on the same page historically, then this is going to be a great option for you. Each student learns the same material at his level. For large families, I know that it is very helpful to keep the students together (until this week, my older boys have always been together).

I would encourage you to go to TOG, check out the different samples and run through the download tutorial. Read the other reviews at the TOS Crew blog. Feel free to ask the authors questions about their product. This may be just what YOUR family is looking for.

Hey, Take a Look!!!!

Little Bear is being featured with some other cuties over at the Totally Tots website! He is the 3rd picture with the black backpack on. It is as big as he is! LOL

Hip Hip Horray!!!!!

My Sonlight order is here...........
My Sonlight order is here..........

There is something about getting a huge box of fantastic books that makes my heart go flitter-flutter. I can't wait to start pre-reading them :)

Thanks Sonlight for the speedy service (would you believe I ordered on FRIDAY?????)!!!!!!!!

New Bible Cover

I made this a week or so ago to go over my new hardback Dake Large Print Bible. Let me tell you, that Bible is huge! I can't imagine what a cover for it would have cost so I made one out of stuff that I had laying around here. It bunched up a bit because I bought the wrong kind of interfacing and had to hand sew most of it (machine wouldn't sew through the interfacing) but otherwise it turned out well. I am pleased with it.

Also, I love the Dake Bible. The notes and word definitions are invaluable. I am so glad that I got the large print because I don't think that I could have read the small print.....It was definately worth the money I spent for it.

Anyway, I have some other projects that I am thinking about working on but right now other things need me more and with the great weather we are having I will probably be outside working in my herb and flower beds.

Tot Food - Breakfast

Carisa at Totally Tots asked me to share my little tot's meals. I would love to do that, although I will confess that our meals aren't horribly exciting. We do strive for nutrition and some variety. We can't wait for summer so that we can eat from our garden! Until then we are making do with last year's abundance :)

This morning Bear and I had our usual breakfast. I dice a potatoe and saute it in a little oil until almost tender. Then, I add some sausage and cook until both are done. I sometimes add some onion (today we had some red onion). I scramble 2 eggs in a bowl and add to the mix, cooking until done. I serve this masterpiece on shredded mexican cheese and taco sauce.



Growing up and until I was pregnant with Bear I hated eggs. I would eat eggs maybe 2 times a month. While pregnant this time I craved eggs and this was my favorite way to eat them. Sometimes I would eat this creation 2 times a day! I guess I needed the protein! Bear and I usually share this 2-3 times a week (I still like eggs).

Enjoy! To see more Tot Food creations, be sure to stop by Totally Tots.

Homeschool in the Woods

History can sometimes be boring and seems to lack hands on activities. I am always thrilled to find ways to make history fun and hands on. Homeschool in the Woods does just that with several different projects.

We had the opportunity to make the New Testament LapBook. Lapbooks are an arrangement of file folders containing mini-books with information learned during a unit, in this case, the study of the New Testament. In general, lapbooks seem to be enjoyed by younger students, but my 11 year old son always loves to do them as well.

The New Testament lapbook contains many different graphic information organizers to enhance your study. I love the New Testament newspaper, chronicling the different miracles that Jesus performed and the Armor of God model.

I am eager to tell you that Homeschool in the Woods has many different fabulous products. We love the timeline figures! Also, be sure to check out their Time Travelers series and History Activity Packs.

History is fun! To learn more ways to make it exciting be sure to check out Homeschool in the Woods.

One 2 Believe

If you missed my previous review of One 2 Believe's nativity set, please refer to the left side-bar.

This time around we received the Noah's Ark set. A plastic ark comes complete with 8 pairs of animals and Noah (with a staff). Although the set warns that it isn't appropriate for children under 3, my little Bear has been playing with the animals after I took away Noah's staff. The figures are made of hard plastic and are very durable. The ark is made of lighter plastic but so far has withstood the strains of toddler play. All the figures will fit inside the ark for easy storage. My son loves the little figures. The elephants are his favorite!

We have been very pleased with this toy and as before, One 2 Believe has a full line of Bible-based toys that are perfect for you youngsters.

SpellQuizzer

SpellQuizzer is a online spelling program that will help you help your children with their weekly spelling lists.

Are you tired of the repetitious reading and writing of the spelling lists, with a new one every week? So was Daniel Hite. A softward developer, Mr. Hite created a software program to help his children with their spelling words and now you can benefit as well!

SpellQuizzer allows you to create your own spelling lists or import a set of standard lists for each grade level. As the parent, you create the list by typing the word and either creating a prompt or recording a audio of the word. When your child is ready to practice, they hear the recording or see the prompt and type in the word. If they misspell the word, the correct spelling is immediately reinforced.

SpellQuizzer is very easy to use. I had it set up and ready to go in less time than it took to download (about 15 mins. on my medium speed internet). I will say that it makes spelling time much less stressful for a mom and student that hates going over the same words again and again.

SpellQuizzer is available as a free 30 trial download and then may be purchased for $29.99. There is an updated version also, so if you have previously used SpellQuizzer you might want to check it out as well.

Growing

It is almost spring.....I can feel it in the air! I love spring. I get so excited about playing in the garden and beautiful flowers. I can almost taste zucchini, okra, fresh tomatoes and sweet corn. I started some lettuce and spinach in the house this week and the lettuce is already sprouting....YEAH! I always wonder exactly how that miracle works.....I can see God's hand in every part of it.

I can also see God's hand in every part of my life. He is right here next to me, walking with me and strengthening my life. He keeps me on the path He has ordained for my life. Very few things in life are easy, but like a seed struggles to grow, I struggle to reach for the goal that God has placed before me.

Take a few minutes and think about the goals that God has placed before you. Search Him and seek His will in every part of your life. God loves you and cares for you greatly. He will work miracles in your life if you will let Him.

Blog Giveaway

I've got another giveaway!

My dear friend, Crystal Wetherholt, is hosting the grand opening of her new website, Savoring the Shades of Women. I can't express how cool her new website is. She has teaching videos, great articles and a detailed message forum.

For her grand opening I am giving away the 2nd CD in her A Child's Heart, God's Garden series.

In order to win you need to:
1. register as a user on her forum and post in the introductions (linking to my blog)
2. after you check out Crystal's website and forum, please post a comment on Crystal's blog and let her know what you think of everything (tell her that Carie sent you) - Crystal has a great blog giveaway going also
3. check back in here and comment letting me know that you did that - I will be checking - with your email address so I can contact you if you win!

Good luck to everyone! Crystal's ministry has touched my life in so many ways. I know that she will be a blessing to you also!

Beyond Five in a Row

One of the first curriculums that I heard of was Five in a Row. Five in a Row is a literature based unit study. Beyond Five in a Row is a little different. Geared for ages 8-12, BFIAR uses 4 literature selections per semester; 2 fiction and 2 nonfiction. It is suggested that a chapter take 1-2 days. There are MANY activities per chapter revolving around history, science, art and literature topics.

We had the opportunity to review Volume 3. The first book is Neil Armstrong - Young Flyer by Montrew Dunham. Chapter 1 activities include learning about tri-motor airplanes, history and geography of 1936, aluminum and alloys, the eardrum, dialogue - correct punctuation, numerical phrases and there is a detailed writing and discussion question. This is all from the FIRST chapter!

Beyond Five in a Row is a very thorough unit study program. All you need to do is supplement with math, grammar and spelling program and you are ready to go! Five in a Row also has programs for older and younger students. If you are intrigued check out their website!

Saturday

I seem to title a lot of posts "Saturday". Kinda boring but it seems to work for me.

We are busy around here. I guess we are always busy around here. That's ok though. Grocery shopping is done for the next few weeks. I bought some seeds to start here in the house for the garden. I can't wait to eat fresh veggies again. Nothing compares to stuff you pick out of your own garden and cook......canned and frozen and "fresh from the hothouse" just doesn't compare. It seem funny to be thinking of working in the garden when it is so cold and dreary here. We had such warm weather for about 2 days and then BAM back to winter. I am tried of winter.

Are you still working your way through reading the Bible in a year? I am plodding along. I finished Genesis, Exodus and Matthew. I am almost through Leviticus. I think throwing Matthew in there is helping me get through Leviticus. LOL That is usually where all my good intentions go down the drain. I know the information has eternal importance or God wouldn't have seen fit to include it, but I have trouble processing and applying it. So I am just reading it and mulling over it and letting it go this time instead of trying to figure out how to apply it. Maybe later I will need to apply it. For now I am just reading it. I do know that I couldn't have ever made it to heaven if I had to follow all those rules! Maybe that is the truth in Leviticus......I can't do anything on my own to get to heaven. Jesus had to come and save me! I need Him! So there you go, my Bible truth for the day. LOL

Many of the bloggers that I read online have decided to stop writing lately. That makes me sad. I can't help but wonder where I would be today in my online walk and in my life as homemaker and homeschooling mom if it wasn't for those bloggers. Sometimes that was all the encouragement that I had. I hope that others will step up and fill the void so that others will be encouraged in their walk as a child of Christ.

This week will be busy. Got more reviews. Hope that you aren't tired of them and that they are helpful to some. I know that I love to hear about new products. Also, for mothers of younger children, I have found a great new blog....I will work on cleaning up my blog and getting things in the sidebar tomorrow, but the blog is titled 1+1+1=1. She has an interesting idea called Tot School. I really wish that I had this blog 8 years ago.

So have a good weekend friends!

Heads Up!

Helping All Kinds of Special Kids

Heads Up! is a company that I don't think that I would have ever run across in my daily homeschooling adventure. Right now, I don't have any special needs kids. We don't deal with ADD or Dyslexia here.

Heads Up! is a company dedicated to provide expert information and products for struggling learners. They strive to assist a number of learning difficulties.

I received their large frames (6 colors), small frames (6 colors), readers (6 colors and clear), Double-time (2 colors) and top of the line (2 colors). The frames are designed to assist a reader in focusing attention on one certain spot. The different colors are available because some students are aided by certain colors more than others. We found the double-time and top of the line to be the most helpful here...........by ME mainly. I am a very distractable reader. I found the markers to be espcially helpful in Bible. My focus is able to stay on what I am reading and not the other verses or notes around it. I can only imagine how beneficial this must be for someone who is struggling with more than a jumbled mind :)

Heads Up! offers many other products for speech therapy, developmental delays, autism and sensory issues. If you are looking for something to help your struggling learner, please check out Heads Up! and see if they have something that can help you. I imagine that you will find just what you are looking for.

Molly's Money Saving Digest

In the current economic trouble that seems to be hanging heavy over all of us I have been so very blessed to receive the March issue of Molly's Money Saving Digest. Molly is Molly Green, contributor to The Old Schoolhouse Magazine. Molly's TOS articles have been a great blessing to me so I wasn't surpised that her Digest was full of great, practical information as well.

The theme of the March issue of the digest is Making Money from Home. Several of the articles included tips, tricks, and testimonials to aid in deciding if/when and how to work from home. There aren't any schemes here! This is all practical, usable advice.

Other articles in the digest included brown bag lunches, items on sale this month, budgeting advice (a continuing article), frugal decorating, special March/April dates and frugal ways to celebrate and how to raise business-minded children. Molly and her contributing authors make living frugally look fun and free rather than confining and boring. I consider myself fairly frugal (in the areas I want to be anyway) but came away with several new ideas that I can't wait to try out. I am sure that Molly and the gang will be able to assist you as well.

You can get your own copy of Molly digest electronically from the Old Schoolhouse Store for $4.95.

Math Tutor DVDs

Are you looking for a different way to explain math difficulties that isn't tied to a particular curriculum? Enter Math Tutor DVDs.

I received 2 DVDs: The Basic Math Word Problem Tutor and The Algebra 2 Tutor.

These DVDs are simple and no-frills. Each DVD (2 DVDs per set) contains several lessons. For example, we watched the Adding Decimals segement on the Basic Math Word Problems DVD. Each lesson builds on the one before it. The lesson is presented with just Jason Gibson and a white board. The problem is given and he writes the solution as he works it on the white board. The concepts are each reviewed repeatedly. I loved that each segement contains many different review problems. Mr. Gibson explains in detail each part of the lesson. His voice is VERY soothing. He doesn't rush through the lessons or hurry anything along.

I appreciate that the lessons are presented by a man. I know that sounds silly, but it is wonderful when my boys can see a concept presented by someone other than MOM. LOL The only thing that I noticed that others might have a problem with is that Mr. Gibson seems to like to count on his fingers. I count on my fingers all the time so this doesn't bother me in the least....but I know it would bother some. So there is your warning! LOL

I am thrilled to have been able to try out these DVDs. I imagine that we will refer to them frequently in the future. There are DVDs for all different math concepts from basic math to physics and calculus. The DVDs are available from Math Tutor for $26.99 each.

Vision Forum coupon

Vision Forum will be sending out a $25 coupon (off an order of $75 or more) Wednesday. If you are not currently on their mailing list, make sure that you get signed up HERE. Scroll down the page to the newsletter membership box. Make sure that you get signed up and confirm your email before Wednesday so that you don't miss out on this great opportunity.

Vision Forum has many practical items and learning tools. We love the "toys". Jonathan Park has to be our all time favorite CDs in the car. The teaching in them is fantastic! You can't hardly stop listening. I don't know how many times we have sat in the driveway to finish one of the episodes :)

Reflections on the Past

I went to the cemetery today.

My best friend, Denise Marie Clark, was born 32 years ago Valentine's Day. She only walked on this earth for 14 years. For reasons that remain her own, she took her own life on Oct. 16, 1991. We were just into our freshman year of high school. I cried at her grave today.

The fall of 1991 was filled with life-altering moments for me. I started high school in August. Always terribly shy (and according to my freshman health teacher, introverted), I BEGGED my mother not to make me go. I did great as a student, but the required social interactions were terrifying to me (I am still not sure how I managed so well).

About 3 weeks into school I started dating a guy that I had pined over for almost a year. I am still not sure what I was thinking......probably wasn't, but he decided that I wasn't "enlightened" enough and it ended just about as quickly as it started. He made sure that all his friends knew about my "inexperience". A couple forward ones were kind enough to tell me. I was devastated.

I went to homecoming with a girl-friend. I clearly remember that evening trying to talk Denise into coming with us. She had a fight with some other girls earlier that evening and had come for the football game but decided not to stay for the dance afterwards. Waving goodbye to her still haunts me.

She took her own life on the following Monday morning. I never talked to her again. I found out from some gossiping people at school. Sat with another friend and cried on the school steps. Never occured to me that I could go home. I even went to school the day of the funeral. We left school and went to the funeral, graveside, dinner and then all trooped back to school like good little students. Why did we do that? What were our parents thinking?

Denise is buried on a hilltop near her childhood home way out in the middle of nowhere. The road is barely gravel. As I drove out there today I remember what it felt like driving out there then. It was cold that day. My friends and I huddled together at the graveside (the funeral was held at the Catholic church - the first time I was ever in a Catholic church). I remember not wanting to intrude upon the family.........my grief couldn't be as intense as theirs. I remember the drive back to town. The ladies of the church that served us lunch were very insistent that we all ate......and we did. I realize now that we were all in shock. How could this happen?

I have always wondered why she felt that she had to do that and why I missed that she needed help. The guilt of being a terrible friend has laid heavy on me. I miss my friend terribly.

Today I cried. The whole way to the cemetery and the whole time I was there. It was cold today too. I was all alone as I straightened flowers and asked why. All alone at that little cemetery. I cried more today than I think I ever have. Something inside of me let go.

My thoughts turned to those few months in the fall of 1991. Looking back I see that those things that happened impacted my life. I don't remember the rest of my high school years as clearly as I remember those 2 months. I learned survival by burying my feelings. I learned to never trust. I learned that things must sometimes be done in order to keep relationships (however wrong that thinking was). I know now that those things aren't true, but the damage done by my thinking during those years has haunted me the rest of my life. I am trying to overcome, but I am not sure that I ever will.

My God is a god of new beginnings. Today I think that I have finally laid my past, all the horrible things, experiences and decisions at that cemetery on the top of that hill in the middle of nowhere. God has granted me an opportunity to start over emotionally. I can make decisions based on God's will in my life. I am worthy of good things. My life has meaning.

Thank you for listening to my rambling. I have no doubt that it has no applicable meaning to anyone else, but I wanted to be able to look back - have my children look back and know that I was able to let go of my baggage.....it doesn't have to haunt us (ME) forever. God is merciful - great - and worthy to be praised. God is powerful and strong. God overcomes the terrible things that sin brings into our lives. My god is an AWESOME God!

Another Award

I must just be splendid :) As most of you know I am reviewer for the TOS Crew. My crew-mate Sheri gave this to me! Thanks Sheri!

I don't have a lot of time to read the blogs of my other crew-mates.....just two, so I am going to nominate Crystal and encourage you to read Sheri's blog. To see the great reviews that my other crew mates are doing (and some products that I am not reviewing) you can go to our Crew Blog. Enjoy!

Why I am Choosing Sonlight - Again

This is an article about why I am choosing to use Sonlight again this year rather than another curriculum. There are pros and cons of each that I looked at, but Sonlight really is the best fit for our family.

The other curriculums that I was looking at:
My Father's World Books
Living Books Curriculum

My homeschooling method is mostly Charlotte Mason with a little Classical and Relaxed thrown in. I roll with the punches and take things as they come. We follow rabbit trails (as seen by the 18 months it has taken us to get through Sonlight Core 3).

A Sonlight Catalog came to my house just after we decided to begin homeschooling. I was fascinated! I studied the poor thing until it fell apart and then waiting for the new one to come out. I didn't order though. I felt that Sonlight was too expensive for our family. My husband would have a fit if I spent that much money! I was sure that I could just as easily put together something similar using my own (not-so-frazzled-yet) brain and the library. I tried that for several years. Then I pieced together a year using Veritas Press as a base. Veritas Press is VERY classical and moved at a pace that was too advanced for us. The teacher's manual wasn't very user friendly. As a student I probably would have done well with VP but my boys were beginning to hate history, so we let that go. I ended up spending a ton of money that year on a lot of stuff that we either didn't use or hated.

The next year we used My Father's World (the 1st grade set and the 2nd/3rd grade American History). We really enjoyed the 1st grade set but there wasn't enough scheduled reading for Greg (who was learning to read). We did the American History together. The resources that they include in their curriculum were great (and many are similar to what Sonlight offers). The problem that I had with them is that there aren't scheduled reading assignments for the students to do themselves. MFW uses a "book basket". I have no doubt that this works for some families but it didn't work for us. I needed to know what they should be reading to reinforce history and science topics. By the end of the year I was weary of being "tied" to the library (we don't live in town and the library often meant a special trip - 30 mins. one way - for us).

I don't really remember what we did the next year. I was trying to put stuff together myself. I have doubts that they learned anything in history.

One day during that year the Sonlight catalog showed up again. By now, I realized that I had been spending more each year than Sonlight cost. So I jumped. My husband didn't fall over. We have had a wonderful year. Everything for history, Bible reading schedules, read-alouds and readers are laid out. The instructor's manual is wonderfully detailed and easy to use! There are reading discussion guides if you choose to use them (sometimes we do, sometimes we don't). We also used Sonlight science 3 that year, but I found the experiments tedious. We like to follow rabbit trails with science so we are going to do that this year, but if you need science laid out for you and love experiments, then you will love Sonlight science. I do like the reading assignments and discussion questions for Sonlight, but we decided to do something else. Everything that we need to read is HERE AT THE HOUSE when we need it. Trips to the library became fun again. Reading assignments weren't dictated by library due dates. School became fun again! The best thing about Sonlight was that my oldest, a self-proclaimed reading hater, loves to read the Sonlight books. He may not read anything else, but he doesn't complain about his reading assignments and frequently discusses what he is reading with me. He is finally reading at grade level. My mother's heart is so happy!

I looked at Living Books Curriculum this year. It is a pure Charlotte Mason approach. read-alouds and readers are included. The price is comparable. LBC uses the language arts books that we already use. The problem is that LBC teaches American History concurrent with Ancient History. My boys have enough trouble keeping up the way it is so I think that it would be best if we just stick with one historical time period at a time.

So we will be using Sonlight Core 4 this year. I wish, wish, wish that I had taken the plunge to do Sonlight when we first started. I imagine that I appreciate Sonlight more because of the other things we have tried though. Sonlight has a 18 week Love-To-Learn guarantee. You can try them and get a refund if you don't like them! I am pretty sure you will like them though once you give them a try. You can check them out HERE. The new catalog comes out in April..........oh, the agony of waiting!!!!