May
17

Contenders of the Faith ~ Model Rockets

By | Bible, Homeschool

2 Comments

IMG_6367web.jpg

Since I posted previously on my daughter’ doing the Keepers at Home group, I’ve had a lot of questions about my son’s Contenders for the Faith group. They’ve had a lot of fun this year with all of their projects and so I wanted to share the latest group meeting with you all today. Being that I’m a girl and all, I don’t have a lot of pictures of their activities, you know…boys only…yada yada… Personally I think that mom’s with camera’s should be allowed. And thankfully I convinced my husband of that fact easily! The boys learned all about model rockets this month, and each built their own models. Of course, be being a blogger and all, I couldn’t resist getting some pictures of these boys launching said rockets!   The boys and their dads each had a shot to launch their prepared rockets. They learned how to hook up the engines, a few safety rules, and then each got the honor of counting down to their own lift off!   The … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Bible, Homeschool Tagged With: ,
May
16

Road Trip USA ~ Kansas

By | Geography, Homeschool

1 Comment

IMG_5804.jpg

Welcome to our week on Kansas courtesy my Road Trip USA curriculum!   Here are some of the things we learned about this week: Located Kansas on our wall map Read our National Geographic Atlas and located Topeka, KS using the map coordinates. Worked on our 50 States and Capitals song State bird: Western Meadowlark State fish: Channel Catfish State flower: The Sunflower Classified the animals of Kansas State mammal: The American Bison Famous People: Amelia Earhart Famous Court Case: Brown vs. Board of Education Food: Beef, wheat, corn, BBQ   Here are some of the things we enjoyed: I’ve been putting up a whiteboard review each week. We review the items for each state as we go, then use this board to review the state symbols quickly.   We take turns reviewing the state locations for all states learned so far, then end with locating our new state of Kansas.   We also add our current state to our United … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Geography, Homeschool Tagged With: , ,
May
15

What’s in the Box Wednesday ~ Kindergarten

By | Homeschool, Organization

15 Comments

tinkerbellboxes.jpg

Hi everyone! I have a new What’s in the Box Wednesday post for you today! What’s a “What’s in the Box Wednesday” post all about? Last year I did a weekly meme just to show what we were putting in our workboxes for the day. You can see all of my previous posts here: What’s in the Box Wednesday? I’ve had a few emails asking what happened to this series, and so I thought I’d share a sample of a day of work in the Confessions house: Today I’m sharing Tinker Bell’s workboxes…in case you’ve just found my blog, she’s in Kindergarten this year:   Drawer 1. In the top drawer she has a little tray of supplies that include pencils, erasers, a pencil sharpener, a pencil grip, a ruler, and a dry-eraser. Behind that in the black binder is our Grapevine Bible study and a pencil bag full of colored pencils specifically for Bible time. Drawer 2. In the next drawer she has her All About Reading workbook, and reader along with our Abeka Basic … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Homeschool, Organization Tagged With: ,
May
14

Teeny Tot Tuesday ~ Letter D

By | Alphabet, Homeschool

6 Comments

IMG_6393.jpg

Greetings readers! I have a Teeny Tot Tuesday post for you today, and we’re working on the Letter D for Dinosaur! Coloring: Even though I absolutely LOVE our school room, it’s kind of nice to get a change every now and then. And since it was so nice out this week, we decided to change it up a bit and do a little “trampoline” school…that’s where the kids get to take their work out and lay on the trampoline and do it. It was a little bright out so the Teeny Tot dawned her sporty sunglasses and got down to business coloring her dinosaur.   Counting Skills: I brought out the dinosaur number cards for her to play with today too. I used them with my Learning Resources Math Links, and had the Teeny Tot put on the correct amount of links on each dinosaur. She also color coded them which I thought was nice.   Letter D shapes: Today I pulled out my Large Letter D print outs and had the Teeny Tot make a pattern using Learning Resources Color Cubes. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Alphabet, Homeschool Tagged With: , ,
May
13

Maestro Classics Story Pack Giveaway!

By | Give Aways, Homeschool

857 Comments

story-pak-web.jpg

Hi everyone, I’m so excited to have the Maestro Classics 4 CD Story Pack to giveaway to you today! The Maestro Classic CDs are wonderful mini-units that help introduce symphony and orchestra to younger students. They’re a fun addition to those of you doing my World’s Greatest Composers curriculum, or even on their own!     What is Maestro Classics? For those of you who haven’t visited Maestro Classics before, they produce “Stories in Music” which are a classical music CD series for children ages 5 to 12, but can be enjoyed by everyone, yes…even adults! Each CD comes with a booklet full of lesson activity ideas and games to play while listening. The CDs also include information on composers and historical facts when appropriate to the musical selections. The stories are engaging keep kids attention while at the same time introducing them to classical symphony and orchestra.   What’s included in this Story Set? Maestro Classics  CD … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Give Aways, Homeschool Tagged With: ,
May
09

Road Trip USA ~ Iowa

By | Geography, Homeschool

2 Comments

IMG_5730.jpg

Welcome to our Road Trip USA week on Iowa. Iowa was named the 29th state on December 28, 1846. It is nicknamed “The Hawkeye State” supposedly after the scout, Hawkeye, in James Fenimore Cooper’s “The Last of the Mohicans” published in 1826. It is the only state in the United States whose east and west borders are almost entirely formed by water; the Mississippi River runs along the east border and the Missouri River along the west border. Iowa is one of our largest producers of corn and soybeans.   Here are a few things we learned about Iowa: Located Iowa on our wall map Read our National Geographic Atlas and located Des Moines, Iowa using the map coordinates. Worked on our 50 States and Capitals song Learned about the state and it’s flag State Bird: The American Goldfinch State Flower: The Wild Prairie Rose State Rock: The Geode Famous People: Buffalo Bill Famous Landmarks: The George M. Verity US President: Herbert Hoover Food: Hogs and corn … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Geography, Homeschool Tagged With: , ,
May
08

World’s Greatest Artists: Michelangelo Unit Study

By | Art, Curriculum, Homeschool

5 Comments

IMG_6290.jpg

Welcome to our World’s Greatest Artist study on Michelangelo! Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni was born in 1475 in in Rome, Italy. He was an Italian Renaissance painter, sculptor, and architect, and poet. His two best known works are Pieta and David were completed before he was 30 years old. He also created two of the most influential works in fresco in the history of Western art. The scenes from Genesis on the ceiling and The Last Judgment on the alter wall of the Sistine Chapel in Rome. His impassioned and highly personal style resulted in Mannerism, the next major movement in Western art after the High Renaissance. Mannerism is noted for its intellectual sophistication as well as its artificial (i.e.: highly stylized poses) qualities.   We took a few lessons to read through the Michelangelo World’s Greatest Artist series by Mike Venezia.   As we learn how to critically assess a piece of artwork, here are some of the things we discussed … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Art, Curriculum, Homeschool Tagged With: ,
May
07

Teeny Tot Tuesday ~ Letter C Printables

By | Homeschool

14 Comments

IMG_6233.jpg

Hello all you awesome homeschool moms! I hope you’re having a great year, and for a lot of you I know it’s nearing the end of this year already! Wow, where did the time go? Well, the Teeny Tot has reached age 3.5 and that’s about when I start with my Letter of the Week activities, so I’ve slowly started introducing them to her as some of her “New big girl school” activities. The title helps. Really. So…onto the post at hand…This week our Teeny Tot worked on Letter C for Caterpillar games. Large Floor Numbers: Here she is doing one of her favorite games, the large floor letter numbers. We lay them out, right now I am putting them in order to make it easier since she really doesn’t know her numbers yet. I call out a number and if she has trouble finding it I help her out a little by giving her the color.   Lacing Game: Strawberry Shortcake helped her with her lacing project. She likes to skip holes, so we’re trying to get her to go into each … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Homeschool Tagged With: , ,
May
06

Backyard Butterfly DVD

By | Give Aways, Homeschool

300 Comments

backyard_monarch.jpg

Is it just me, or has anyone else noticed the large amount of butterflies in the Road Trip USA curriculum? It seems like a LOT of states have listed a state butterfly, and since my kids absolutely love butterflies, I thought it would be fun to see the new DVD from Your Backyard: The Life and Journey of the Amazing Monarch Butterfly! What did we think? I was right! Just like their original Your Backyard Feeder Bird DVD, the Monarch DVD is just as fun. I think my kids like it so much because the video is narrated by children their ages. They also love the colorful vivid up-close images that allow them to see something they wouldn’t normally get to witness right up close! I like it because it’s full of fun information and shows the wondrous 30-day transformation from egg to butterfly. You get to watch a Monarch caterpillar eat its way out of its egg to the completion of metamorphosis. And one of my favorite parts about the Your Backyard team is that they’re a … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Give Aways, Homeschool Tagged With: ,
May
03

Classical Literature Unit Study Combo Pack

By | Curriculum, Homeschool, Unit Studies

11 Comments

litpromo2.jpg

  I hope you all enjoyed the 10 Days of Classic Literature series!  I realize that several of you would like to purchase more than one pack, so I added a Classical Literature Combo Pack at a discounted price! What’s Included? Each unit study contains educational lessons, activities and a fun lap book that your students will work on as they progress through the book. They also include book reports, vocabulary, critical thinking, story timelines, and comprehension. These studies are geared towards grades Kindergarten-4th, but can probably be adapted for older students as well. I really designed these units to be a fun addition to reading the classics. I didn’t want them to be too stressful for myself or my kiddos, but instead give them something fun to do along with the stories to help them remember what they’ve learned in a fun hands-on way. The lap books included are wonderful for reviewing subject matter, and a great creative interactive homeschooling … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Curriculum, Homeschool, Unit Studies Tagged With: , ,