Favorite Homeschool resources this year...

Well, this post will be a lighter subject!
I wanna connect with Moms & any avid reader today. You may be homeschooling or you may simply be looking for something good to read to your kids.
I like to occasionally share what I'm doing in our Home school setting.
Let's start with Read Alouds. One of my favorite books to read pretty much every year is "Trumpet of the Swan" by E.B.White. This book is just an easy read that is so easy to sit and listen to while doing something quiet like a handwriting page or two.
Other favorites this year are: God's Promise by Sally Michael. This book is a great family devotional to poke through each morning. We finished her Names of God last year, & it was well written and illustrated along with good activity suggestions.
We've got a strong lean in on our Bible readings this year. So we are currently practicing lots of verses for AWANA and doing our Bible Study on Moses together. This is taking most of our read aloud time each morning. I'm sure once we start to approach Christmas, we will step back from some of the books to do an Advent book.
This year, we are in our second year of using a Math Curriculum called "Teaching Textbooks." I am really liking it because I am not doing the checking!!!! This is working well for us since we have a several laptops and computers for the kids to access their lessons. The program teaches a lecture, and then has the student practice and review the concepts. I can even turn on hints and helps to keep them moving along. I like the quick links to show me what lesson is associated with each problem that they are working through. It's easy to navigate for sure. One of my favorite things is that this website offers a family year rate, so the price actually goes down as I have more students.
For Science, I'm going through a series of Usborne Science booklets. My kids can either independently read a section and journal what they are learning through writing and art or they can listen to me read it and then do journaling. It's a great way to do science when keeping it simple. We also supplement with COOP classes and hands on science box subscriptions like Spangler Science.
For Language, I've got many levels going at once since I'm homeschooling 5 students. For my grammar school kids, I like First Language Lessons, Including Audio cds. I like the quick simple lessons and then we are done! It's all scripted, so I don't have to think ahead before the lesson. Some of my kids are doing ABEKA workbooks. They are good to pace through and work through the nitty gritty of grammar. My youngest student isn't able to independently go through a workbook like that, so I like to default to Language Lessons.
So those are some of my favorite resources this year for school.
I have just finished a grief support class, and have benefited by that.
I also am reading a book called Miss the Carraige by Shannon Gallatin, & how the soul grows through loss A Grace Disguised by Jerry Sittser. (Thank you Debra!)
I don't know about you, but I have trouble getting too far into a book before getting side tracked by different needs of my family. I really enjoy podcasts. That will have to be for another post!
What are you reading? It doesn't have to be home school or kid related. Please do share!
Rachel

Braddock Bay Observatory

We went on a field trip to a bird observatory, and it was so neat!

The volunteers here tag the birds and observe where they migrate, their size, and features about the birds.

I was suprised to see how skilled they were at identifying birds and handling them so naturally!

The kids had a great time.

We had a Robin visit us! 

 

The most exciting find was a hummingbird that was caught that morning. All of the kids were gleeful about it. 

 

It's a Science filled Summer!!

We are going to be working through a Creepy Crawly Science book this summer, so I thought it would be nice to share the process in case any readers would like to follow along with your kids!

Let's get ready for our first Science experiments! Roly-Polies! (Chapter 3 if you are following along.)

This week will be our field hunt and observation. You will be on the search for these little Roly-Polies aka Pill Bugs and make a few observations about the bugs.

Your supply list:

• Petri dishes or kitchen saucers with plastic wrap.
• One small potato or apple chunk (1/3") per dish.
• Filter paper or paper towel circles (1 per dish).
• enough sand to fill 1/2 of each dish
• a sheet of dark construction paper for every 2 dishes.
• playdough or something to make crevices or tunnels for exp #4
• fabrics, paper, soil, etc for offering different textures exp #5
• cups to hold roly-polies while altering containers for experiments

The children can find these in your backyard if you'd like. Look under logs, bricks or any dark damp area. If the areas are left back in place, we will be able to find other creatures for future experiments.

Sow Bugs and Roly-Polies are similar, but not the same because sow bugs do not roll up into a ball. They are both crustaceans and either will work fine for the experiments.

Putting together the habitat is a great project for the child to do.

Keeping these little critters is easy. They need a place to burrow, moisture and a little bit of food.  Use a container with a lid containing holes. You can use plastic wrap w/ a rubber band if you'd like.  The container will need a moist paper towel. (we will add sand during experiments.)

You will also want a small item such as a log or something for the bug to burrow under and through. I might even just pick some rocks and sticks.  Toss an apple chunk or potato chunk in there about once a week to keep the habitat acceptable.

Observations:

Allow the children to setting the bugs they have into their containers after set-up.

Ask the children to describe the bugs to you. What do they see? 

Help them notice that they are not insects and why. You can tell them at this point they are crustaceans and why.

Ask where the bugs are found outside. Why do we find them there? (damp & dark places w/ moisture.)

Why do they stay in these places? what do they need to stay alive? (Food, water, safe place from predators.)

The first 2 experiments we do next week, will determine the validity of the conversations we just had with the children.

Here are a few links to check out about Roly Polies!

Sid the Science Kid

Facts about Pill Bugs

Pictures to come of our experiments!

~Rachel

Reading to the children

We had a friend recommend this series called "Classic Starts" to expose the children to classic books.

I've been very happy with them so far.

We found a number of them at the library, and they are a reasonable price on Amazon.

Check em' out!

Learning

I'm a beginner when it comes to knitting.
I've been learning for the last few years.
So this winter, I've made a scarf, a few hats and
now I'm just making dish cloths to add to my stash
in the kitchen.
Seems like Winter is just the best time for knitting.
In the summer, I always want to be outside, but come winter,
I'm all over knitting. What do you like to knit?

We've been studying ancient Egypt this week.
We were talking about King Tut this morning, and decided
to make a pyramid. David made it, Luke tried to eat it, John & Maggie
did sneak sugar off the table, but here's the proof! We
did get it finished! Now how long will this last?
~Rachel

What we are reading

I have come to a  new appreciation for reading in the last few years.
I think that some of this comes from reading to my children. So as I find books that have meat to them, I tend to bookmark to read to my younger children later.
A large part of homeschooling is reading and exposure to as much as possible.
We've been reading Holling's book lately which have good detail and illustrations that keep the kids interested.
I like that I can stop and talk about the sketched pictures with the kids if they are interested in the chapter we are reading.

My boys are in early elementary, but I think this book would be interesting for up to 5th grade.

It's a great way to fill out history.

We also were reading Seabird.

This story was a little over my boys heads, but they got the main picture.

They definitely didn't want me to put it down!

Right now we are reading Minn of the Mississipi.

This one has a few things in there that are good conversation starters about

beliefs, but they boys just keep asking if we can read more.

So that is just a peak at a few good books we've been into.

What are some of your favorite books? I'd be glad to check them out!

~Rachel

Avacados

Anyone grown an avacado plant indoors?
We are giving it a shot. The kids
can't wait to see the roots start to grow.
I'm hoping our house isn't too cold. We will see!

~Rachel

Learning to Read

This year I have been working with our kids on reading.

We started with a book that would work lesson by lesson to learn to read.

It went well, until about halfway through.

Somehow, the method became overwhelming for my son.

So we started the Dick and Jane books at the Library. Soon after that, I found this collection at the local bookstore! David is already more than halfway through it! They are really cute stories, and have stood the test of time. I like seeing the old fashioned toys and such in the pictures.

Another resource that my friend told me about are BOB books.

These are the neatest little books! My boys absolutely love the silly stories, and they are short enough that the child feels like he has accomplished something at the end.

I like the way that they are gradually harder and have a word list in the back.

We also have been using the Five in a Row curriculum for this year.

You know, I have learned quite a bit about how to teach using library books, and even how to make a lap book. I like that they cover a good range of subjects in each book that is read.

All of my children like to sit and listen to the stories, and so I feel that I don't have to keep the littles entertained with "doing school". It has been a nice approach to k5 and first grade for us.

Homeschool Fun

We are enjoying a few nursery rhymes today

with this cute book we found at home school freebie of the day!