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Marvelous Monday- ELECTIVES

Electives. Wasn't that the category you loved in high school? Finally, you could study something you really loved or at least wanted to know more about. In our home, electives are chosen either because we see an area of giftedness in a child, the child has a growing interest in something, or because we know it's a skill they'll be thankful for later in life. Case in point: I didn't take typing in high school because I thought something really lame like, "I don't plan to be a secretary; why would I need to know how to type?" Oh brother. Proof that parents are wiser.

Let's start with typing :D

We have used Typing Instructor Deluxe with good success in the past. It is a straight-forward program that features the ability to tailor-make a typing program for the student's unique needs. Unfortunately for us, Typing Instructor does not have a platform for Mac. ♥ When my husband was in dental school, I taught myself to knit. At the time, knitting wasn't enjoying the popularity it has in recent years, and there just weren't as many lovely books on the subject available. I checked out every knitting book our library had, pouring over them and soaking in everything I could. My favorite book for beginning child knitters is Melanie Falick's Kids Knitting. Explanations are clearly illustrated and the projects are cute and enticing. Among my favorite websites are KnittingHelp.com, Knitty.com, and Ravelry.com. ♥ I know I've touched a wee bit on cooking before, but just in case you're looking for some good kids' cookbooks, here are our favorites: Pretend Soup, by Mollie Katzen Paula Deen's My First Cookbook, by Paula Deen Better Homes and Gardens New Junior Cookbook Our copy of Pretend Soup is soiled, dog-eared, and used weekly here. Such a simple book, such good results. Even the teenagers drag it out, but don't tell them I told you ;) ♥ If you have a budding draftsman or someone who needs a constructive way to spend some free time this summer, check out Complete-a-Sketch books. All three of my older guys loved these when they were in the 8-12-year-old bracket, and I think I'll give them to my almost-10-year-old-daughter this summer as well. ♥ I've linked several times to homeschool graduate Amanda McCoy's really fun nature and art kits. We're a season behind, but my younger kids have all loved these projects. Several of them have been county fair entries for us, and blue ribbon winners! (I've learned to save the really good projects they do all year long for the fair. Otherwise, we'd be scrambling at the last minute and that's never fun). If you've got crafty girls and boys, they'll love the projects. If you have nature lovers, they will too. It's an elective that can also be counted as nature study and art! ♥ My boys and oldest daughter have dabbled somewhat in woodworking, but we are blessed to have a grandfather on the property who has all the tools and patience they need. I have some neat homemade gifts they've given me over the years, and just tonight there was talk about asking Pop Pop to show them how to make boxes with locks so they can keep little peoples' wandering hands out :) They've browsed the Woodworkers Resource site for free patterns and help. Incidentally, asking grandparents to give tools for gifts is a great way to build a stash for your young men and women. The look of elation on the face of our then-nine-year-old boy when he received his own cordless drill was priceless! ♥ I'm looking for a good beginning sewing DVD or online instruction for our almost-ten-year-old. Anyone have any favorites? Cheryl's Marvelous Monday post can be found here. She has at least one child who has exceptional baking skills!

Educating at Home, Resources, ReviewsKendraJune 8, 2009 Comments

Marvelous Monday- GEOGRAPHY

We haven't always studied geography as a subject separate from history because the history programs we've used include mapwork that I thought was sufficient to familiarize my students with the globe. However, I had been reading Ann Voskamp's lovely blog for awhile and was so very curious about her geography curriculum, A Child's Geography. We began with A Child's Geography: Explore the Holy Land because it lined up nicely with The Mystery of History, Volume I. From the get-go, I loved that Ann's book was written with her beautiful style and voice. I'm not going to spend a lot of time telling you the contents of the books, because her site does a better job than I could. But I will tell you that both volumes are an easy addition to a homeschool with multiple levels and ages to teach. This year I used A Child's Geography with my 6th grader, 4th grader, and 2nd grader, and it was another great addition to our Circle Time. ♥ Oh my! I just took a peek at Cheryl's Marvelous Monday post and she has far more to say about geography than I do! You'll get your money's worth at her blog :D

Educating at Home, Resources, ReviewsKendraJune 1, 2009 Comments

Marvelous Monday- ART AND MUSIC

Right off the bat this week I think I should tell you that I have my BA in Music (Voice) and I have absolutely no artistic ability other than walking around art museums. This means two things: 1. Although I have high standards for music curricula in our home, I'm not very good at implementing them. I think I just live music with my kids, and the formal let's-sit-down-and-talk-about-music teaching of it goes by the wayside. 2. I am the opposite with art curricula. I have used quite a few things with varying degrees of success, and I think I've given my kids an appreciation of a wide variety of art in a more formal way than I have with music. The older ones can recognize historical context, several notable artists, and important art works to a level at which I think is appropriate. Those two caveats in place, let's talk about music curriculum: Purchase compilations of classical works and listen to them. Read the liner notes and tell your children, "This is Bach". As you become familiar with each piece, you will soon find yourselves able to recall pieces as you hear them in the store, on the radio, or in movies and commercials. A fun series to familiarize yourself with individual works are the books by Anna Harwell Calenza, such as The Farewell Symphony, The Heroic Symphony, and Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue. The books are nicely illustrated, each telling the story behind the piece and each containing a CD of the piece as well. Very nice. If you want to familiarize yourselves with classical composers, you can check out any number of Mike Venezia's books in the series Getting to Know the Worlds Greatest Composers. The books are written on a kindergarten- 3rd grade level, and cover the greats: Mozart (my favorite), Bach, Beethoven, and many more. I don't think these books are the ultimate resource, but they seem to be the best that's available at the present time. Many libraries carry them, so check there first if you're not sure you want to invest in them all. When I was in college studying music, I had the driest, most uninteresting music history teacher humanly possible. What a pity. Now that I am past that part of my education, I have discovered that music history is indeed exciting and interesting, for art and music truly are a reflection of what is going on in our culture at any given time. Just to make sure we're on the same page, I'm talking about the history of Western Music; Eastern, indigenous, and tribal music is quite another subject altogether. My favorite stand-alone resource for music history is a series of books by David W. Barber, the first of which is called Bach, Beethoven, and the Boys. These are extremely light-hearted books needing some editing as appropriate for the ages you're teaching. Great for Circle Time, great for a fun summer read-aloud. I realize they aren't the Norton Anthology, but they are memorable. Do you have a child who is interested in taking voice lessons, but you're either not prepared to incur the cost (voice lessons can definitely be a luxury item) or don't know where to turn? I highly recommend Singing for the Stars by vocal coach extraordinaire, Seth Riggs. My personal interest is vocal physiology, with a particular emphasis on good vocal technique. Mr. Riggs teaches healthy singing, and he does so across the genre spectrum: everything from pop like Michael Jackson to the demands of opera. As for music theory, most music students will be given a workbook to use by their instrumental teacher. If your child is learning at home, however, and you are looking for a straightforward approach to theory, I'd recommend the Theory Time series. And now for art... Years ago we participated in a lovely little once-a-month co-op in which a mom used the Meet the Masters curriculum. It has been a long time and my memory regarding specifics is fuzzy, but I know I loved it. In a nutshell, the program highlights one artist at a time from the point of view of the artist. The students are introduced to several of the artist's works, then have the opportunity to try their hand at a work in the style of each particular masterpiece. If you're interested, you can read all about their downloadable curriculum on the Meet the Masters FAQ page. We've also really loved Discovering Great Artists, which also teaches a bit about each artist and their style, then presents a project in the style of the artist. These are accessible projects, things that can be achieved even by an art-impaired mom like me.

There are many art resources on our shelves, most of which I've picked up from library sales and used bookstores. Look for discarded books on different painting and drawing techniques, as well as books with a generous amount of pictures. Books such as Sister Wendy's 1000 Masterpieces, Art Fraud Detective, and the Eyewitness series. Then give your kids great tools, such as Prismacolor pencils (you can get a good price on these at Michaels by using the weekly 40% off coupon) and Lakeshore Learning scented clay (it's yummy!) Need project ideas? My favorite sites/blogs are: Hearts and Trees Harmony Art Mom The Crafty Crow Dick Blick Lesson Plans We also love the Art With a Purpose series, which I wrote about once before... good for early elementary and very affordable. And since I'm being really lazy now, read about Creativity Express, which I've also written about here before. Whew! I know there's more, but it's a holiday weekend and I have a hammock calling my name. Check out Cheryl's Marvelous Monday post, too!

Educating at Home, Home Organization, Resources, Reviews, Training Little OnesKendraMay 25, 2009 Comments

Marvelous Mondays- FOREIGN LANGUAGES

Latin is being studied in our home because of its obvious ties to the roots of Romance languages, but also because there are several fields which demand a knowledge of Latin terms and a solid foundation in Latin can be very helpful to the student. My husband wishes he'd gone into dental school with a basic knowledge of Latin roots, as I'm sure anyone in the medical field would agree. We also like Latin because studying Latin grammar only strengthens the student's knowledge of English grammar, and every little bit helps. Initially we began with Latina Christiana, but my firstborn was nine at the time and he found it difficult to stay motivated. At about the same time, we learned about Latin for Children and thought it was worth a try. We loved the DVDs and the format, and he continued very happily with Latin for Children until he completed all three levels. The writers of Latin for Children have made the study of Latin in the elementary years very approachable, yet they maintain a rigorous enough pace that the student emerges from all three levels with a substantial amount of vocabulary, Latin grammar, and usage knowledge. Although the program is designed for 3rd-6th graders, we found that starting later was better- around 5th/6th grade. Perhaps because we don't have a Latin teacher and a class to keep pace with, it was difficult for my younger children to really get what was being taught. And so as our firstborn was continuing on with his Latin study, our second son asked to try a different approach when it was his turn to start. I had been given the Latin's Not So Tough curriculum to review, and as a ninth grader in the fall, he will be finishing up his Latin study after having completed all six levels. You can read my review of Latin's Not So Tough for The Old Schoolhouse magazine here. There are certain moments in the life of a homeschooling mom that stand out as strange and wonderful. The day our then eight-year-old third son approached me and asked, "Can I study Greek instead of Latin?" was definitely one of those moments. As if I'd say no. Providentially, not a week later I was asked to review the sister curriculum of Latin's Not So Tough, Hey Andrew, Teach Me Some Greek! That review can be found here, but I will tell you that we have been very happy with what we have seen in the life of that son. He writes in Greek, reads his interlinear Bible in Greek, and is looking forward to translating the book of John in Greek. Stunning, really. We also have enjoyed Classical Academic Press's Greek Alphabet Code Cracker during Circle Time. Our Greek guy helped me teach the 4th grader and the 2nd grader the Greek alphabet, and we all enjoyed solving the mystery in the book. The graphics are well done, and Classical Academic Press even offers free support materials online. After completing basic Latin (and Greek, as it were) studies for three years, we give our kiddos the option of continuing in that language or choosing a modern language. Because of the French exchange students who have lived in our home, our first child to have moved beyond Latin chose to study French. I sat with a Canadian friend of mine who lived on a Canadian island where only French is spoken and poured over potential curricula. In the end, I chose Breaking the French Barrier for its solid grammar foundation and its user-friendly format. Our high school junior has been enjoying it, even getting together with two friends to practice their accents and conversation. For our littlest learners, we love all the Signing Time DVDs, which teach copious American Sign Language vocabulary. Our two-year-old signs nearly everything he sees in the DVDs, and it's a joy to see him signing and speaking at the same time. I love giving the babies the skill to sign "please" or "more", "all done", and "thank you". It sure beats having them yell for what they want! Don't forget Cheryl's Marvelous Monday post! Gotta love her photo of the Windex guy :)

Educating at Home, Resources, ReviewsKendraMay 18, 2009 Comments

Marvelous Monday- LOGIC

Academic confession #2: I am not a logical thinker by nature, therefore I tend to run from logic problems and study. There's probably a logical fallacy to disprove the above statement, but I couldn't tell you what it is. Thanks to the encouragement of a friend years ago, we began with The Critical Thinking Company materials. I use these books as "fillers", having the elementary-age kids go through them when they've completed other math assignments or need a little something to do. They think they're a fun challenge. The first book I'll take out is Building Thinking Skills. I find that doing the little exercises (for example, figuring out which shape doesn't belong in the sequence) helps my young children to stop and analyze something before diving in and offering an opinion or a quick answer before having thought it through. Mathematical Reasoning Through Verbal Analysis is usually next, but not until we've done a level or two of Building Thinking Skills. The emphasis in this book is on solving mathematical problems and I like to have an intro to thinking skills before introducing the math series. Last year I purchased Revenge of the Logic Spiders for our then-fifth-grade son, who was immediately drawn to the fact that it is a computer game. He enjoyed the format and was challenged to think through each of the 116 multiple choice questions because ultimately, he needed to escape the hungry spiders and the only way to do so was to answer all of those logic problems. I love being sneaky like that :) We move into more formal logic study around seventh grade with an introduction to logical fallacies. Its hard to find a more fun and un-intimidating start than Nathaniel and Hans Bluedorn's The Fallacy Detective. My boys have learned to recognize bad reasoning, and I love it when they point out bad logic they hear or read in the news or *ahem* as used by their mother. The Thinking Toolbox follows The Fallacy Detective, presenting 35 lessons to help build reasoning skills. I probably need to read that one. We have moved into a more formal study of logic in 8th grade using Martin Cothran's text entitled Traditional Logic I. From the Memoria Press website: "Along with a basic understanding of the Christian theory of knowledge, the text presents the four kinds of logical statements, the four ways propositions can be opposed, the three ways in which they can be equivalent, and the seven rules for the validity of syllogisms." Got that? No, neither did I :) Probably need to crack that one open, too. I'm telling you, my boys just eat this stuff up. Traditional Logic II necessarily follows Traditional Logic I, and this is, so the boys tell me, where it gets fun. All I know is, I can rarely win a friendly argument anymore, and these guys are so well-equipped to argue the tenets of their faith in a way that is logic and impenetrable. I only wish I could have been so well-equipped as I was faced with those who wanted to shake my faith when I was in high school and college. You will want the DVDs for Traditional Logic I and II. Our study of logic led us to use Martin Cothran's book on rhetoric entitled, Classical Rhetoric With Aristotle. Our oldest finished it last month and ate it up; he wants to study constitutional law and we are very happy with the foundation he has received in logic and rhetoric because of Mr. Cothran's materials. You can read more about Classical Rhetoric With Aristotle on the Memoria Press website. Please hop on over to Cheryl's blog and see what she has to say about studying logic in their home. We've got some differences and similarities on this Marvelous Monday!

Educating at Home, Resources, ReviewsKendraMay 11, 2009 Comments

Marvelous Mondays- SCIENCE

Bird Watching on a Hotel Balcony

Unlike History, Science is not my favorite subject. Seems people are wired one way or the other, doesn''t it? I'm a writing/reading girl, not an abstract math/sciences girl. Regardless, science is something that children need to be exposed to and educated in, so there''s just no getting around it. Whether I feel like it or not, we've chosen to educate our children at home and so science must be a part of my life.

It seems I bumbled through the first five years or so of science. We used Considering God''s Creation, which I did love, but which is very hands on (lots of cutting and pasting) and while one of my boys loved it, the other loathed it. The book covers all aspects of God''s creation, including the natural world, solar system, the human body, animals, plants, and weather. It comes with a CD of science songs created for each chapter, but we found them highly annoying. Maybe you won't :)

After Considering God's Creation, I floundered. Providentially, at about the same time I was needing to decide what to do next, I read an interview with Dr. Jay Wile in the Winter 2003 issue of The Old Schoolhouse Magazine. This one article changed my whole thinking, and left me shouting, "Hallelujah!" Dr. Wile, a Nuclear Chemist and author of the Apologia Science Texts, explains that elementary-level science isn't science. Without an understanding of advanced mathematics principles, science simply isn't. All the pressure was off me for the elementary years, and we switched to nature study and observation, science non-fiction books (such as the Christian Liberty Nature Readers), and science biographies.

I now approach elementary science with unit studies in mind. It's actually fun stuff for this non-science loving mom. Most recently we've done a cooking science course using a free lapbook from Homeschool Share, an excellent resource for science unit studies. And free!

Other elementary science units we've done and loved include My Body, Exploring Creation With Astronomy (an Apologia-published book in a series that lays terrific groundwork for junior high and high school science), and Swimming Creatures of the Fifth Day (also in the Apologia elementary series).

DVDs are a great tool for all levels of science study, bringing to life many concepts and teaching in a way that is visual and memorable. We have several favorites, DVDs that my kids actually ask to watch. I'll be bold here and say that our family is not terribly fond of the Moody science series; they seem dry and crusty, in need of a good update. Here are the DVDs we've loved most:

Children's DVD Pack from Answers in Genesis

Incredible Creatures That Defy Evolution

Planet Earth

Biology 101

The World of Nature

We utilize our public library often, and I'll check out a whole subject at a time. I plop the books in a big basket in our living room and just let the kids casually read through them. Non-fiction science-related books well-loved here:

Find the Constellations

Many of the DK Eyewitness Books, such as Ocean

Nature Finds

We also, as I'm sure you've picked up if you''''ve spent any time on the Preschoolers and Peace site, love Amanda's nature and craft kits from Hearts and Trees. Amanda is a homeschool graduate and daughter of Barb, who also has wonderful blogs and materials for nature study. She inspires me to get my kids out and about looking at things, really looking at things in nature. Barb's Handbook of Nature Study blog and e-book could fill your elementary years with all the nature study you need.

Beyond elementary science/nature study, we use Apologia in our home. Neither of our first two children (the first two to use the Apologia texts) are science-lovers, and while they would say they don't love their texts, we see them as really the best and most complete option on the market for Creation-based science study. Alongside the Apologia texts are some businesses that have created auxiliary products that enhance the texts and provide materials such as lab kits.

Creation Sensation was started by a homeschooling family who recognized the need to gather all of the materials required for the junior high and high school labs. Gotta love a kit!

Live and Learn has created module-by-module mini-books that will help your student learn to study the materials in a way that reinforces the concepts by having them create notebook pages. This is a memorable way to study and my boys both say the Live and Learn books have been a big help to them this year.

A final word about evolutionary inclusions and material. Fundamental to laying a strong foundation in Truth for our children is exposing them to the materials from Answers in Genesis. AIG gives us tools for combating and arguing against the evolutionary theory so prevalent in books, video productions, and texts written by secularists. Our older children openly and boldly argue against evolutionary theory because they have been well-equipped to do so.

Recently our eldest child was discussing a book with me and he said, "Mom, there is no book I could read that would change my beliefs. If it doesn't line up with Scripture, I know that it isn't Truth." Wow. That's a mouthful, isn't it?

We teach our children when they rise up, when they lie down, and when they walk along the path. We also teach them to be wise as serpents and as gentle as doves, which means knowing when to saturate them with Truth and how to equip them to fight lies.

Start with Kids Answers.

Don't forget Cheryl's Marvelous Monday post on Science. We have quite a few similar thoughts this week.

And sorry for the quotation marks all over the place. It's yet another server/provider issue.

Educating at Home, Resources, ReviewsKendraMay 4, 2009 Comments

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