Tales of a Homeschool Nothing ~ 2013 - 2014 Curriculum

Hello out there in blogger world! Are you soaking up the sun every chance you get just as I am?

With all of this glorious hot weather & these lazy pool days, I really don't want to start thinking about school. But C'est la vie. Think, I do & plan, I must soon.

So let's talk about what curriculum choices we will be using for the upcoming year.

 Let's start with the obvious here. This will be our 4th year with Tapestry of Grace & Story of the World. Do you KNOW what that means? (come on history cycle users, help me out here...) I DON'T HAVE TO BUY HISTORY ANYMORE!!! **happy dance**

That's right TOG is on a 4 year cycle. So next year I start back with teaching year 2 (which I have already purchased!) Oh, don't worry, I'm sure I will find something to use that , um, extra money on.

We love using TOG. I even found the Pop Quiz CDs at The Homeschool Gathering Place while we were in Raleigh last week. WE have also been blessed to be able to get copies of SOTW on CD. This is a great alternative to me having to read everything!

We will continue memorizing important events in history with the timeline cards by Veritas Press. This is a fun way for the kids (& myself) to remember those events. And you WILL be amazed at how much they learn!

Since we are studying Ancient Rome, Ancient Egypt, & Bible Times, I picked up a few art books to go along with it. Draw and Write Through History is filled with art lessons, information, & copywork. They have 6 different books that cover the different eras through out history.

The next easy choice was science. We LOVE Apologia Science. It is one of the few Creationist curriculums out there. I let the kids choose between swimming creatures & land animals this year. They were both good choices, but swimming had my vote as well.

I don't personally use the notebooks. Austin hated it the first year & Makenzie really isn't old enough for it yet.

Hold up! Before you ask. Yes, this is the same Latin that we used last year. Unfortunately Latin wasn't a priority for us last year, so we didn't learn much. Oh well. Let's try it again.

Austin will continue using Teaching Textbooks this year. He still has some of 6 to complete, then he will start on 7. Makenzie will work on Horizons 2. We have never used Horizons before, so we will see how this goes.

We will go back to Easy Grammar with Austin. Learning Language Arts Through Literature just wasn't working for us. He will finish Daily Grams 5 because I didn't enough difference in the 5 & 6 books. Besides he still had plenty of lessons left in 5 to complete.

He will also complete the second half of Jump In by Apologia. This is meant to last over 2 years. I am sort of on the fence with this one. I haven't seen much improvement in his writing this year, but I hate to just give up. I am still praying about Institute for Excellence in Writing's Bible Based Lessons. We tried IEW a few years ago, but he resisted so much. It was our first year homeschooling & I was really trying to pick my battles. IEW was not one I chose to fight over, so we dropped it. I wonder now if he really disliked it, disliked writing in general, or was just pushing my buttons. I don't have a clear answer yet, but I can't get it out of my head, so don't be surprised if we switch to that.

He is also using Wordly Wise 300 again this year. Last year was the first time we used it and he didn't fight it much, so that's a good thing!

Makenzie will be using All About Spelling & All About Reading this year. These are both BRAND NEW to her & me too! (I'm scared! They look so intimidating!) She is still struggling to read, so pray for us both!!

Austin has used Explode the Code before & enjoyed it so I thought I would try it with her this year. They even have an online version that I need to look into.

I have a generic 2nd grade work book for her. She seems to like those. I also found an easy writing curriculum to introduce her to the concept.

So, there you have it in a nutshell.

Tales of a Homeschool Nothing ~ Reach for the Stars

I just love using Apologia for science. I never have to worry about the idea of evolution finding its way into our creationist beliefs. Oh, I have explained to my kids that many people believe differently than we do & that scientists think we came from monkeys (Hey moms, how often would that tail come in handy now?!). But we don't believe the stars weren't poofed into existence billions of years ago. My kids know that God created this world we live in in 6 days.

We studied Astronomy this year. I just love looking at the stars on a cool crisp evening. It has always fascinated me.

Unfortunately, I have fallen behind so we are not quite finished with every lesson, but rest assured we will be wrapping up soon after vacation. I WILL make it to an observatory before the summer is over!

It was eye opening to learn a possible reason as to why God created the universe the way He did. We attempted making a telescope out of a box, but failed miserably at it. The description of Mercury reminded me of Pitch Black from The Chronicles of Riddick.

Venus was one of their favorite lessons. Maybe it was because we played in melted butter!

In celebration of planet Earth, we went to the park and played with a compass.

Volcanoes are ALWAYS fun!!!

Click HERE & HERE for more science fun!

Stay tuned through June as we look at the far end of the solar system & find out if Pluto is really a planet or not!

Oh, & make sure to come back next year as we dive underwater with Swimming Creatures of the 5th Day. Maybe I can find something educational on our beach trip!

Tales of a Homeschool Nothing ~ History is HISTORY

I have a real problem with commitment. LOL It seems that no matter how hard I try, I just can't "commit" to following a schedule. Yes, I love the flexibility I have to do this, but it also stresses me out because I fall victim to the "Am I doing enough?" "Are my kids learning as much as their public school peers?" "Am I REALLY qualified for this?" questions & self doubt.

But, I am HAPPY to say that we are actually done with history! Yeah!! Now granted, I stuffed A LOT of info in this week, but we got through it.

I haven't stressed before when we didn't complete history before summer, because I would just pick up where we left off. That would be difficult this time because we were in year 4 of Tapestry of Grace. In August, we start all over again with the beginning of time, so discussing Obama one week followed by ancient civilizations the next could be a little confusing.

We still have a few lessons in Science. *sigh* I REALLY need to take a trip to an observatory!

I had a great time at the NCHE Homeschool Conference on Friday. I decided to only go to the book fair this year. Since I was in Winston anyway, I also swung by Ollies & Gullions. I love love love looking at books!!

I also stopped by Barnes & Noble to drop off the kids' summer reading lists & picked up a few FREEBIES!! *Your kid only has to log down 8 books, take to your local B&N, & pick out a FREE book!* FREE is GOOD!!

I found a book from Buzz Aldrin about his trip to space, a few books on our summer list, and several missionary stories from YWAM. I picked up several different titles relevant to Tapestry of Grace next year. Finally decided on Makenzie's math (Horizons 2), & finished buying Austin's LA.

Oh yeah & I was blessed to be able to buy All About Reading Level 1 thanks to a used curriculum email that I receive!

Austin has been attending football camp for most of this week so that has worn him out. The summer kids movies also started this week. Fun Fun.

I am calling an end to our post card project as well. Even though, we did not get a post card from everyone who originally signed up, we still received enough to call it a success. 

SHHHH - Don't look for me next week. I will have my toes buried in the sand!! Its been 5 long years since we have been to the beach as a family!

Tales of a Homeschool Nothing ~ Blood, Water, & Milk otherwise known as A Decade of Change

WOW, What a week! Can't you tell?!?! ^^^^ LOL

Early on in the week, that ^^^^ was NOT the title that was rolling around in my head, but today, yeah, it works.

On a personal note, my sweet Makenzie got baptized Sunday! (see, water)

Wednesday, she fell in a whole at church & cut her pinky toe on a broken pipe. I will leave out all of the grizzly details, but, who knew a toe could bleed so much? It took 4 stitches. I just hope it heals ok because of the location. (see, blood)

Then, Thursday, while our Keepers & Contenders made wire crosses, my graceful child fell on a board & jabbed a nail in her leg. (yep, more blood)

Our Explorers club got to visit a dairy farm Thursday. Even though we live right beside a dairy farm & this is nothing new to my kids, they had so much fun seeing all the cows, the calves, & learning about the milking process. (um, milk)

Now, for the rest of the week that fought desperately to be named......

History has C O N S U M E D our week! You know how I LOVE history, so this week has been so much fun. We finished the 50's and started studying the 60's. This era had so many HUGE things going on. One day, we switched it up & started with history (we usually wait until after lunch). That's all we talked about all day. Its always a good sign when the kids say, "No, I want to hear more!"

We listened to the music before Elvis & talked about what an incredible impact he still has on the musical industry. Then we listened to sooo many different clips from the 60's. Just like everyone else, some they loved, some they couldn't wait for me to change. Austin was awestruck at Jimi Hendrix's rendition of the Star Spangled Banner. All of them enjoyed Elvis & felt the need to dance like him. Lynyrd Skynyrd, Chubby Checker, Johnny Cash, George Jones, & Jerry Lee Lewis were also among the favorites. On the other hand, Pink Floyd, The Beach Boys, Janis Joplin, Patsy Cline, & Bob Dylan were not appreciated for their legendary contributions. I could have spent all week long just studying the musical genius that evolved out of the shadows of war.

We talked about Civil Rights and the similarities between Kennedy & Lincoln. We watched JFK's assassination & JFK Jr's farewell salute. As we were watching a Woodstock video, Austin remembered something that I had said last week & remarked "Weren't you there?". (BWAHAHAHA, um no, I wasn't born yet, but thanks for thinking I'm really old!) As we were graduating high school, a friend & I desperately, but to no avail, wanted to go to the 25th anniversary of Woodstock.

We made a lava lamp with oil, water, & Alka Seltzer.

Another highlight this week, we are reading The Outsiders! They keep begging me to read more. I love revisiting many of the classics I read as a child. Justin is always saying "Stay gold Ponyboy" so I just knew he would be excited too. When I showed him the book, he just looked at me. Long story short - he has never even heard of it, let alone read it. He picked the quote up from a friend. REALLY?! Oh my stars! I couldn't believe it! I guess I need to be educating my husband as well.

We have also been watching Fly Me to the Moon on youtube. Its a little cheesy, but cute.

In science, we have been watching Chris Hadfield from the Canadian Space Agency show us what it is like living on the International Space Station. He turns tedious, everyday activities into fun experiments.

We watched Journey to the Stars by Nasa. Even though I had to reiterate (my kids knew this, but I felt the need to remind them) that the world is not billions of years old & that everything didn't "poof" into existence, it was a fascinating video with lots of fun graphics.

We still need to make our hurricane in a bottle to simulate the crazy weather on Jupiter.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot - we have a new baby! A baby calf, that is! (haha - more milk)

Tales of a Homeschool Nothing ~ I Like My Grass Blue

We're back! Last week we took a not so relaxing, VERY soggy camping trip. Even with all of the rain, we still had fun & it was certainly a much needed & intentional break.

>>>Insert funny story here>>> Logan decided he HAD to carry an egg back to the house after we fed the chickens one day. He started pretending to eat the egg. To begin with, he just put it close to his lips & pretended to bite, making an "omph" sound. He got closer & closer with the egg until he finally had it in his house. Of course I discourage this because the egg has NOT been washed - YUCK! He didn't seem to mind though. He continued "eating" the egg all the way back to the house until we heard a noise & realized that Logan had actually bitten the egg & now had a mouth full of yolk. BWAHAHAHA Needless to say, he was spitting it our pretty quickly.

Aside from the usual issues that we are still working on, school ran very smoothly.

We covered tattling, making excuses, & disobedience with our Child Training Bible. Austin read several of the verses for us.

Austin & I had a long heart to heart discussion about dealing with his anger better. He also confided in me about his fears of not having many friends. It broke my heart. I can empathize with him to certain extent. Even though I was never home schooled, I know (just like most people) what it was like to be friends with someone one minute & seemingly hate them the next. We all go through times where we doubt if our friends are really our friends.

Even through his tears, he said he still wanted to stay home next year. That decision should me just how much he is maturing. Something is obviously getting through to him even when I think its not.

I guess we really are taking this journey one day at a time.

Meteoroids are similar to "dirty snowballs". We learned the difference between a meteoroid (still in space), a meteor (burning up in our atmosphere), & a meteorite (fallen to Earth). The only difference between meteoroids & asteroids are the size. And there might have been another planet in between Mars & Jupiter. Did you know any of this? If I did, I sure didn't remember it.

We have been enjoying LIFE: Our Century in Pictures for Young People. Can I just say that I LOVE this book?! It covers SOOOO many things that we are studying & I love the fact that even Makenzie can look at a picture & remember what it is from!

I thought it would be fun to "indulge" in a little historical food from the Nifty Fifties. Yep, Richard &Maurice MacDonald opened a Drive In restaurant where hamburgers sold for $.15. Unfortunately, we didn't get our burgers that cheap, but they were still appreciated. (note the little hand reaching anxiously for the bag)

Suburbia, "I Like Ike", the birth of a King, & Civil Rights were all discussed this week. We watched PBS videos about MLK Jr's March on Washington, Rosa Parks, & even bits & pieces of Forrest Gump (I chose to fast forward or mute some of it).

Austin is working on mixed numbers and fractions through Teaching Textbooks, writing a report about snakes, and continuing Daily Grams & Wordly Wise. Makenzie is adding & subtracting 2 digit numbers, working on blends and sight words, & reading.

We finally finished our post cards and mailed them out this week. We are participating in a post card exchange with others all over the United States. We have received many cards from several states all ready & have been enjoying them.

Justin took off a couple of days this week, so we took advantage of the opportunity & went in search of curriculum deals one day. Check out the picture, I got all of that for under $100. The down side to this was that I didn't get anything I actually went after. The plus side - I got ALL of next year's Tapestry of Grace for $40!!! I buy the DE version one unit at a time for $45 (total $180) where I can print it myself  as needed. The print version is more expensive at $80 a unit ($295 for all year). I saved $140!! I AM SO EXCITED!!!

Its that time of year again. That's right - MerleFest! YEAH!! Sun, fresh air, cool breezes, friendly people, & blue grass music all weekend!

Tales of a Homeschool Nothing ~ Eggs, Ka BOOM, & Gold

^^^^^ Hahahaha - I don't know about you, but I crack myself up with these crazy titles. Some weeks are easy to label & some weeks I am really grasping at straws.

We are taking advantage of a 30 day free trial to Reading Eggs. Makenzie is STILL not reading like I think she should be. I know, I know. It will happen in its own time. She will eventually take off. Everyone is different. BLAH BLAH BLAH 

I KNOW all of this, but I CANNOT relax & just let it happen. So, I'm willing to try just about anything right now.

Back to Reading Eggs, I have let it replace most of her "school work". She is advanced in math so I'm not worried about taking some time off there. Let me just say that this youngin is LOVING this web site! She asks to play on it ALL the time. This, I like.

We haven't been using it long enough to see if it works, but I will keep you informed.

Mars has been our object of study in science. Hey, I even learned a few things. I didn't know that the soil has iron in it thus creating the red in the "Red Planet". I also didn't know (or maybe just didn't remember) that Olympus Mons is the largest volcano in the solar system.

We planned an artificial ecosystem & Austin even built one. We also recreated an Olympus Mons eruption!

We spent even more time perfecting (yeah right) the 4H presentations to share on District Day. We had to travel all the way to Greensboro & take up the biggest part of a Saturday for District Day.

I am SO proud of Makenzie! She did her presentation on "Raising Egg Laying Chickens". When she practiced at the 4H office, she forgot EVERYTHING. Not this time! This time she did AWESOME!

But wait, there's more. I'm just as proud of Austin! He talked about "Dirt Bike Safety" and he won GOLD! WHOOP WHOOP! That means he is going to State this summer!

The kids worked on their 20th Century inventions this week, adding things like The Academy Awards, Popeye &; Mickey Mouse comic strips, color TV, movies with film, & every woman's best friend - the automatic dishwasher.

Austin is reading The Train Jumper. Yeah, I know. We are just a little bit behind time with that one, but its still relevant. I wish I had time to read it as well, but no such luck. Maybe this summer.

We are only a few chapters into reading The Cay. This is another one that I have never read so I'll let you know how that one turns out.

We watched The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas over the weekend. This is a pretty heavy story, but this time in history was heavy. There was just so much hatred all around. It's so hard to even comprehend.

I chose not to read The Diary of Anne Frank, but we did find out who she was & the struggles her family went through.

We also read The Little Ships - The Heroic Rescue at Dunkirk in World War II. The further I read, the more I cried with this one. My kids always look at me funny when I cry while reading. But I just couldn't get past the amazing effort of the "little people" and the sacrifices they make on a daily basis without needing or wanting recognition or compensation.

While we are on that particular topic, I have to address the actions of my oldest son. Two different times this week, Austin has made a few dollars. Right after receiving this money, opportunities have risen where donations were being taken up. Once for a little girl who was sick, the other at church. He has emptied his pockets both times without thinking twice.

I couldn't help but think of the little widow woman in Mark 12 " And Jesus sat over against the treasury, and beheld how the people cast money into the treasury: and many that were rich cast in much. And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing.  And he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury: For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living."

How many times do we stop & think before we give to a worthy cause? How many times do we justify a buck because we only have $21? We certainly couldn't put the whole 20 dollar bill in. How many times do we argue or give God excuses because we only have another $100 to last until payday? But how many more times should we give more?

Tales of a Homeschool Nothing ~ Schooling Outside the Box & Night at the Museum

WHEW - man am I TIRED!

I have been set up at a consignment sale for 4 days promoting Blessed Boutique. Let me just first say how thankful I am that God blessed our family through this opportunity!

The kids - ALL 3 kids - have been at my mom's house so I could actually get some work done. This wasn't my first choice, but I didn't have much of an option. Oh well.

I sent their school work with them & amazingly they actually did a little bit. I haven't checked it for accuracy yet though.....

As a family, we all worked on the upcoming performance for Night at the Museum. Makenzie rehearsed her speech over & over and she worked on her poster. We planned out her costume as well. Justin helped Austin or maybe I should say that Austin helped Justin build a model airplane (from scratch).

My boys did an amazing job portraying Wilbur and Orville Wright, even though Orville screamed for his sissy while eating a cookie on stage. Makenzie was the cutest Rosie the Riveter I have EVER seen.

Lady Liberty, Billy Graham, Molly Pitcher, Amy Carmichael, and Raggedy Ann were just a few of the exhibits that came to life. There was even a puppet show depicting Queen Esther's life.

We focused on History & Science the first half of the week since we wouldn't get a chance to do that once the consignment sale started.

We continued our study of the Earth and the Moon in Apologia Astronomy. They thoroughly enjoyed playing with the compass we made and discussing craters and eclipses.

We finished reading A Long Way From Chicago and it was one of the best books we have read this year. We also read Mississippi Bridge and discussed how different times are now and how black people were still treated inferior to whites even though they were free.

Now, I'm going to bed. Did I mention that I was tired?

Tales of a Homeschool Nothing ~ Parks, Chickens, & Hearts

Happy day after Valentine's Day!

Around here, we don't do anything very special for Valentine's Day. (Although the hubby & I are going out on a date tonight!) We didn't have any parties or anything like that, so thankfully the kids weren't too jacked up on sugar. We did celebrate with chocolate hearts & Mad Libs.

We are still reading The Railway Children by E. B. Nesbit. I'm struggling to get through it because of the way it was written. There are English phrases a plenty & lots of railroad slang, but its a fun story. The kids are really enjoying it.

Apologia Astronomy is teaching us that Earth is the perfect planet.

We have danced & indulged our way through the roaring 20s only to find out that the fun has to end sometimes. We are beginning our study of The Great Depression.

Unfortunately, Teaching Textbooks is having to be retaught this week & next. Mixed numbers & reducing fractions are just not sticking.

Makenzie is reading a little better. I NEVER thought it would frustrate me as much as it does. I'm still not sure if it is lack of effort or honest to goodness struggle.

We are still working on obedience. Somehow it seems that we will never learn this lesson.

Even though we have fought through getting our work done and focus problems, we have had A LOT of fun this week!

Several chickens got out of the coop so we had to chase them around.

We took off to the park to enjoy a sunny afternoon with swinging, sliding, & skateboarding. My dad even joined us.

Austin had the first poultry judging meeting on the year.

And the BEST part....we brought home new diddles. They are so cute. Logan doesn't know what to think of the little fuzzballs yet.

Tales of a Homeschool Nothing ~Emergency, Hot, & Cold

This week has been F R I G I D. Not only has the temperature been cold, but the wind has been brutal, & the end of the week brought snow, sleet, & freezing rain.

When its so cold, why not talk about something hot? 

Did you know that Venus is over 800 degrees all the time? Well, now you do.

Venus is covered in volcanoes, rock, and swirling sulfuric acid clouds. We experimented with how lava runs and hardens. We also took a look at how radar works.

In history, World War I has erupted and ended. We discovered when permanent waves and hair dye was made available to the general public. We started a book of modern inventions.
*side note* I really need a good time line (not on the wall). Does anyone have any suggestions?

Austin has consistently scored over an 80 & even a 100 on math {happy dance}. Makenzie is learning ones, tens, time, & adding double digits.

Music class was an impromptu round of hilarity.

PE ranged from soccer, slalom skiing, obstacle courses, & hula hooping - all courtesy of the Wii.

We finally resumed some of our extra curricular activities. Our Keepers & Contenders learned the basics of CPR. My hubby was kind enough to teach our explorers club about first aid.

We are reading The Railway Children & Ruthie's Gift. Makenzie is already feeling the pain that Ruthie felt ;)

Tales of a Homeschool Nothing ~ And We Resume

It feels like forever since we have actually done "structured school". And I do mean F O R E V E R! We always take off most of the month of December, but we had so many interruptions & insanity going on before Thanksgiving that it was difficult to get in a few good days of school, let alone a full week.

Let me just say that I wasn't exactly thrilled about starting back.

I know my kids! Austin, especially, likes to push my buttons & will buck until its all I can do to hold onto my control. I was fully expecting this first week back to be miserable.

This is one of the few times that I have been happy to be wrong!

Yes, Monday was a little sketchy, but hey, its been awhile. The rest of the week, while it hasn't been perfect, it has been pleasant. And - get this - we actually accomplished EVERYTHING we were supposed to!

WHOOP WHOOP

In a nutshell, this week we have learned about craters & made a model of Mercury, we have set sail on the unsinkable ship, studied cause & effect, made groups of 10, reviewed Latin, read about Louis' struggles with being dumb & his adventures at camp, created melted pieces of art, had several dance offs, & plenty of other stuff.

WOW - we you write it all down, it looks like we really did have a good week.

Tales of a Homeschool Nothing ~ Amo Amas Amat

We have successfully made it through week 2 of our 3rd year in homeschool land! Woo Hoo!

It was a relatively "normal" week - whatever normal may be. Nothing really special, nothing too traumatic. That's ok, I'll take ordinary anyday over drama!

We welcomed Hurricane Isaac by having a hurricane cleaning party. And since we live in NC, there's no real threat from Isaac anyway. BUT, Hurricane Logan is another story all together. He has WRECKED my house. As we speak, he is in the kitchen flooring, getting jacked up gaining strength on froot loops. WOW! Who would have believed that such a little bitty critter could make such a mess.

Anywho, we added Latin this week. {Hey, don't look at me that way! I already know I'm nuts.} WHY Latin you may ask? Well, I asked the same question. But, logically, its the best choice for my kids at this age. It helps with understanding English, grammar, and will make learning another foreign language easier later on.

I didn't expect to see immediate results, but guess what? They LOVE it! No, really! They have actually asked "Can we do it again?" {Who are these kids & where did mine go?} I must admit that the chants are very catchy. I find myself singing "amo amas amat amamus amatis amant" in my head at the strangest times. By the way, just in case you were wondering - amo means "love".

We also made our very own solar system in science. We are studying astronomy with Apologia this year. I have always wondered why God created all the stars & planets if He didn't plan to put life on them. Yeah sure, He could have just given us something else beautiful to look at & study, but was there any other reason? I never thought about everything having an equal pull on each other & keeping us in our rightful place. I also didn't even consider the time, days, or seasons.

Our God is awesome! I can't wait to get outside at night & have an excuse to watch the stars.