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Showing posts from July, 2014

Lightning Lit & Comp: Shakespeare Comedies {Review}

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I first fell in love with Shakespeare when I was in 9th grade and I was forced to read Romeo and Juliet.  I blame my love of Shakespeare on Ms. Bradovitch.  In addition to Romeo and Juliet, she made us read the sonnets and write papers.  I did so well in her class that I found myself promoted to honors English classes for the rest of high school. Not so sure I liked that part but I have never lost my love of Shakespeare. It only grew as the years have passed. Because I love Shakespeare, I want my daughters to be as excited as I am about the Bard and his writings. In a previous crew year Boobear and I had the opportunity to use and review Shakespeare Tragedies and Sonnets . When Hewitt Homeschooling offered the crew the opportunity to review Lightning Literature and Composition: Shakespeare Comedies and Sonnets Student’s Guide and Teacher’s Guide , I begged for the chance to review it. Yes, begged.  No, not just because it is Shakespeare but because it is Lightning Literature from He

The Eternal Argument {Book Review}

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I want my daughters to use critical thinking when evaluating history and literature and current events. I want them to have a framework to examine the world around them so we gladly accepted the chance to review The Eternal Argument from Analytical Grammar .  The cover states that The Eternal Argument is “a framework for understanding Western Literature and Culture.” About The Eternal Argument : This softcover book has nearly 300 pages. In addition to the 15 chapters, the book includes   an introduction, an afterword, and an index. In each chapter Robin Finley discusses a book.  She might choose one aspect to illustrate a particular point and she does give warnings for spoilers. It isn’t necessary to have read the books mentioned but being familiar with them does add a layer of depth and for my family a layer of fun we go to that deeper level.  The book is designed to be read by a family so that “meaningful discussion can take place.” The chapters end with questions that facilita

Random 5 on Friday ~ July 25th Edition

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We can not be coming up to the last week in July.  No. No. No!  I’m not done with July. I want more July!  Random thoughts about my blog and social media! 1. I’m making a list of things to change or improve on my web design. I’ll be updating the About Tab and working on navigation. I did change the main background to be white and I made the outer background a darker shade of lavender purple. I want my blog look to be simple but pleasing and not overly cluttered.  Do you have any tips or suggestions?  Something you’d like to see me add or change? 2. I joined Pinterest!  Yes me!  The person who cringes at visual overload.  If you would like to follow me on Pinterest you’ll find me at Tess {Circling Through This Life}. 3. Speaking of Social Media have you liked Circling Through This Life on Facebook yet? I’m still building up the page and I’d love to have you come and interact.  Come on over and tell me what you’d like to see me write about.  4.  I’m thinking I want to post more abo

10 Suggestions for Making the Most of a Rainy Day

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Here, west of the mountains, in the PNW it rains a lot from November to April and quite a bit in June.  Though we often lack motivation during those months we usually just stick to our school routine.  We had a rainy day this week and I needed an M post for ABC Blogging so M is for {10 Suggestions for} Making the Most of a Rainy Day!   Summer rain is different.  After weeks of gorgeous sun and some really hot, for us anyway, days, this rain is draining.  None of us are motivated to do anything productive.  We still have school do but it just feels different in the summer. Together the girls and I came up with a list of Ten Suggestions for Making the Most of a Rainy Day.  These would be things we could do during the summer when it rains and we just have no motivation or desire to be productive. 1. Play a board game~ We love games around here and we have plenty of them.  I included several of our favorites in my post about Games as Gifts . 2. Read a fun book aloud~ We love books.

Learn Piano at Home with HomeSchoolPiano {Crew Review}

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If you’ve been following my blog you’ll know that BooBear, my oldest, is a piano performance major in college.  Piano Lessons have been an important part of our life for many years.  The cost of private lessons can be prohibitive. With HomeSchoolPiano it’s like having a private tutor come into your home. As a member of the Schoolhouse Review Crew we received a Lifetime Subscription for up to five students to the HomeSchoolPiano - Complete Set of Books . What does that mean?  Lifetime Subscription to Complete Set of Books? Well, if you’re a reader like me it doesn’t mean a book club . Instead, in context it means “level.”   Each “book” contains six units and each unit contains six lessons.  Some units have a bonus level.  There are videos for each and every lesson.  Each “book” also has a pdf file with pages that correspond to the different lessons. The Anatomy of Unit: As stated above each unit has six lessons with some units containing a bonus lesson.  These lessons follow a car

3 Ways to Love Your Spouse {L is for Love}

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I have frequently said that Honeybear loves me far more than I love him. I am not a great wife. I am not the woman I want to be.  He’s not perfect.  Far from it actually.  Sometimes I get dragged down into that selfish place of if-he-really-loved-me-he’d-do whatever it is he’s not doing that I want him to do. True love doesn’t look like the fairy tales (well setting aside Once Upon A Time which is a fabulous show but very twisted with the fairy tales).  Love is an action.  It’s a choice.  It’s often sacrificial and always concerned with others not self.  When I look at love from that perspective,  I can see the different ways my husband does love me. So here are 3 Ways to Love Your Spouse 1.  Listen to Music You Barely Tolerate.   For 21 1/2 years I have thought my husband shared my interest in the music of U2.  He’d even turn up the radio for me. I just found out this past weekend that he really doesn’t like them. He tolerates them for my sake because he loves me and he knows I re

Moving Beyond the Page: LA and Science Packages (Crew Review)

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I love literature based home schooling! In 2013 we had the opportunity to review two packages from Moving Beyond the Page so when they came up again this crew, Tailorbear expressed super high interest. I mean she was super excited and did the research to give me her first and second and even a third choice! She chose her language arts package based on the book that interested her most and she chose the science package that coordinates with it as her first choice.  I wish I had a picture of her reaction when I told her that we would be reviewing Language Arts Package - The House of Scorpion /Online and Science Package – Genetics and DNA . Program Overview Moving Beyond the Page is a research based, comprehensive, integrated curriculum with activities designed so that students not only understand the materials but learn how to apply them. It can be used alone as a complete homeschool curriculum for Language Arts, Social Studies and Science, or it can be used as a supplement. Ind

K is for Kicking Bad Attitudes to the Curb

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If you’re looking for ideas for conquering the bad attitudes in your children, you’ll need to keep looking. This post is for me to help me kick my bad attitudes to the curb . Some days I am just a grouchy, horrible, prone to angry outbursts, witchy woman who, unfortunately, finds offense everywhere.  *sigh* Instead of seeing the good, I focus on the bad . Instead of “oh, look, they’re shipping the dvd!”  I think “really?  they’re just now shipping it and I still won’t get it for another 7 days??!!”  I sink into a self-pity party and travel to woe-is-me-everyone-is out-to-make-me-miserable-land. It stinks. It’s wrong. I don’t like it. My poor children. I don’t want them walking on egg shells wondering if they’ll get their heads ripped off because today’s the day that nothing will please mom . My children are talented, intelligent and I hope well educated, but they are also human and that means words hurt.  On Mom’s a Witch days, glances and tones hurt. My children are beautiful insid

Random 5 on Friday! July 4th Edition

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Short sweet and to the point today! 1.   Today is July 4th!  If you are an American, Happy 4th of July.  Ok, ok.  Happy 4th of July to all those who have today as the 4th of July on their calendar but but Happy Independence Day to those who celebrate the 4th of July as a Holiday. 2.  So writing number 1 made me wonder about Old Calendar American Orthodox Christians. It’s a civil holiday so it is not on the Julian Calendar but the Julian calendar is really only used for religious observance right?  July 4th on the Julian Calendar is still 13 days away.  Logic dictates that being a civil holiday it is ok to celebrate it on the civil calendar date.  Sometimes I am thankful that we follow the revised calendar which currently matches up with the Gregorian Calendar. 3.  Three of my girls went to camp this week and came home yesterday.  No pictures though because I forgot to send a camera with them. Boobear went as a camp counselor  and the other two as campers.  The campers are already b

J is for Jamming and Canning

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I did not grow up with a canner. My mother did not can. My maternal grandmother did not can or least not when I knew her. My paternal grandmother did can but she lived so far away and I saw her so infrequently that the closest I ever came to canning with her was the fall that I made applesauce (which I didn’t can, but froze instead). I didn’t have any idea of what to do. My mother didn’t know.  But I called granny.  Not only did she know how to make applesauce she walked me through it.  While we talked on the phone she told me what I needed to do. Somewhere I have her hand written instructions for making apple butter. The first bit of canning I ever did was with a friend from church.  Boobear and I went out to her house and we made jam. I fell in love with canning. Later that summer we canned peaches.  The next year my girls and I canned peaches.  Last year we invested in a pressure canner and Honeybear and the girls canned green beans and carrots. This past fall we canned tomatoes.