MAY
22
2012

What’s in the Box Wednesday ~ 2nd Grade

By | Homeschool, Organization

7 Comments

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Hi everyone! Back by popular demand is my 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 another sample of a day of work in the Confessions house: Today I’m sharing Turbo’s workboxes…in case you’ve just found my blog, he’s in 2nd Grade this year:   Drawer 1: Bible: Grapevine Studies, and his pencil bag full of special colored pencils for our Bible study. He also has a supply tray with all of his cool pencils, a sharpener, ruler, erasers, glue, and usually a few extra boy things that manage to find their way in. Drawer 2: Phonics/Spelling: All About Spelling workbook, and usually a dry-erase marker and whiteboard. Also in this drawer is A Reason For Handwriting. Drawer 3: Math: Math U See Beta, his math blocks, and a Kumon Dollars & Cents and Kumon Telling Time book. Along with his math worksheet, I have him do one of the books each day, usually he alternates. Drawer 4: … [Read more...]

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MAR
22
2012

4-H Robotics

By | Homeschool

8 Comments

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Turbo has been participating in a Robotics club this year and he absolutely LOVES it! Since it’s been such a big hit, I wanted to take a minute to share some information with you as well. They have 3 tracks to work through, Virtual Robotics, Junk Drawer Robotics, and Robotics Platforms. The program Turbo is currently doing is called “Junk Drawer Robotics” because the items used can typically be found in your junk drawer! The group is filled with boys ranging from age 6-12 and they all team up to work together on projects. They are currently working through the Robotics Level 1 “Give Robots a Hand”. They’ll eventually move onto Levels 2: “Robots on the Move”, and Level 3: “Mechatronics”. Each project (teacher manual) book costs around $7-$9.   In order to complete the program, each student needs a 4-H Robotics Youth Notebook ($5.95). The notebook is used to record ideas, collect data, draw designs, and take notes on their projects. Along with the … [Read more...]

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JAN
24
2012

2012 Mid-Year Curriculum Changes

By | Homeschool

43 Comments

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Hi everyone! I’ve had several questions from readers asking how our 2012 curriculum choices are going. I think one of the things I like most about homeschooling is the ability to be flexible and note when something is working well and when something isn’t working! That said in order to maintain my own sanity, and thus the sanity of those around me, I’ve decided to change the things that weren’t working. And while I hate to waste money, sanity is priceless, no?     Change Number 1: Saxon –> to Math U See I said at the start of the school year that we were trying out Saxon for the first time. Well, I have to say that Saxon just wasn’t a right fit for us!  Partly because I had a hard time adjusting to teaching it, and partly because my kids just weren’t getting how they explained certain things. I found myself pulling out our Math U See blocks and trying to re-word the Saxon lessons using the Math U See principles so it made sense. After awhile … [Read more...]

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NOV
05
2011

Imagination Station Series Giveaway

By | Give Aways, Homeschool

748 Comments

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I’m always looking for fun educational reading for my kids, so I was totally excited when I was contacted to review the Imagination Station adventure series! I was equally excited to see my kids jump at the chance to read them! The Imagination Station series is a historical fiction adventure series for young readers, published by Tyndale House and Focus on the Family. These books were created by the same people who created Adventure’s In Odyssey, so  knew they’d be great! Think “Magic Tree House” but from a biblical perspective! Here are some details from the publishers: Travel back in time and sail with the Vikings, meet a Roman emperor, come face-to-face with China’s Kublai Khan, and experience a host of other historical adventures in the  Imagination Station series for young readers. Written for early readers, ages 7 and up, the series features the virtual reality device the Imagination Station, which is one of the major plot devices used in the … [Read more...]

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JUL
19
2011

Our Curriculum 2011-2012

By | Homeschool

80 Comments

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Hi everyone! It’s that time of the year again! You know the one…when you realize that summer’s almost over and you barely remember it starting. The one where you think “Yikes! I better order my curriculum so it’s here in time!” Yep…that one. I’ve had lots of emails asking about our curriculum choices for this year already, so I know you all are planning away out there too! Of course I’m happy to share our choices with you, but I also want you to stand firm in your own choices and not beat yourself up thinking you should’ve done something else just because I or any other blogger recommends it! Each family is different, and I know you’ve prayed over your choices, just as I have, so we can take comfort in knowing that we’re being obedient to our calling! So here it is, our choices for the 2011-2012 school year! (Wow, I had a hard time typing 2012…I remember back when even the thought of the year 2000 was like back to the future hover-cars and … [Read more...]

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MAY
15
2011

The Write Shop Primary Review & Giveaway

By | Homeschool

510 Comments

Looking for some help teaching your children how to write? In preparation for next year, this one was thing on my mind! I don’t consider myself a great writer. I never even journal. I talk a lot. But I don’t think that counts. So the thought of teaching my children to write was freaking me out a bit. Oooh! Write Shop Primary, thank you so much for relieving my stress! After 2 years of another curriculum, I was starting to notice that what I was using wasn’t really teaching my children “how” to write. It would give them words to use then say “okay now write a story”. It seemed logical to me, but for little guys it was too open ended. They didn’t even know where to start. Write Shop is different. It is a teacher directed program that literally shows your children the “how to” of writing through examples, brainstorming, working together, and editing. No longer are they just trying to come up with something creative out of thin air. I know that seems simple, and it … [Read more...]

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APR
05
2011

What’s In The Box Wednesday: First Grade

By | Uncategorized

7 Comments

Welcome to What’s In The Box Wednesday! Today I’m sharing my First Grade workboxes with you. 1. Math U See: Alpha. You can also go to the Math U See E-sources, they have a ton of online activities, worksheet generator, loan calculator, investment calculator, and online math drills. 2. All About Spelling: I can’t say enough about this, my kids are doing really well with it. While I think some of the words are a little too easy, the phonics rules they’re learning are priceless! This makes for spelling of more difficult words much easier. 3. Abeka Phonics practice: I’m really just adding this in because we’re still using the Abeka worksheets and I want to make sure that we don’t miss something for those. Next year I won’t do this. 4. Handwriting: This is Abeka, but we’ve since switched to A Reason For Handwriting. My son likes it better and so do I. 5. Word Scrambles: These are to be used with magnetic letter tiles from Lakeshore Learning. 6. Abeka Language: 6. … [Read more...]

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MAR
22
2011

What’s in the Box Wednesday: 2nd Grade

By | Homeschool

17 Comments

Welcome to What’s in the Box Wednesday! Wow, I haven’t done one of these posts in awhile! But I do like to look back and see what was in our workboxes, so I thought I’d do one again. I have another one for First Grade coming up too. 1. Math U See: Beta. You can also go to the Math U See E-sources, they have a ton of online activities, worksheet generator, loan calculator, investment calculator, and online math drills. 2. All About Spelling 3. Abeka Letters and Sounds Test (I put the test and key in there so when she gets to that box I’m not searching all over for my teachers manual.) 4. Abeka Language 5. A Reason for Handwriting transition to cursive book. 6. Little Kids Adventure Bible. My 2nd grader does her own bible reading each day. This Bible says its for ages 4-7, but I find it works well for her. There are still nice illustrations and the wording is great for her age. They also have The Adventure Bible for Young Readers that’s for kids 8-12. 7. Typing. Right now … [Read more...]

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DEC
30
2010

Scratch and Sketch Books

By | Art

12 Comments

We recently got our hands on some of these fun Scratch and Sketch books! These super cute books come with a small blurb about each item and a drawing for the kids to copy if they so choose. The pages are black and each book comes with a wooden stylus used to ‘scratch’ the image into the black coating. Of course they each have a different fun background that will show through as you draw the picture. Here are some of our creations: This book is a fun art addition to our workboxes whenever we have an open spot! We have the Rainforest Scratch and Sketch (Sorry, I can’t find this one on Amazon) and the Under The Sea Scratch and Sketch. Here are some more fun Scratch and Sketch books: http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&MarketPlace=US&ID=V20070822%2FUS%2Fconfofahome-20%2F8010%2Fb5b71c54-3757-41e2-983a-bb3f54f7fc93&Operation=GetDisplayTemplate … [Read more...]

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NOV
05
2010

Expedition Earth ~ Thailand Floating Boats Craft

By | Geography, Homeschool

3 Comments

Sawa dee ka! This week we made Krathong Floating boats for our Geography Curriculum week on Thailand! This craft went much better than our Columbus Day Boat craft so I thought I’d share our building strategies! Supplies: Cardboard Masking Tape Tin Foil Popsicle sticks and any other decorating items you’d like Play-doh (optional: we used it to secure the popsicle sticks that were holding up the sails) Directions: STEP 1: Cut a rectangle out of cardboard and fold in each side so it makes a “U” shape as below. I used masking tape to hold it in place. STEP 2: Cover the boat with tin foil, making sure to pinch ends together in a pointy shape to keep water from getting into boat. STEP 3: Using popsicle sticks and whatever else you like, decorate your boat. We used the sticks for oars and also to hold up our sails. We placed a small ball of play-doh inside the boats and stuck the sail popsicle sticks into it. Step 4: Present your finished boat to Mom for blog pics: … [Read more...]

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