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Showing posts from April, 2011

TOS Review: Hey Andrew Teach Me Some Greek

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One of the subjects that I have always wanted to learn   teach has been Greek.  I just never really made it a priority in my home school.  I’d looked at several programs including Greek N Stuff’s Hey Andrew program but despite my desire, I just didn’t have the drive. When we began to explore the Eastern Orthodox Faith, I finally had the kick in the backside I needed to be serious, however, I still wasn’t sure HOW I was going to make that happen.  Well, God made it happen through the TOS Review Crew.  What a blessing to receive Hey Andrew Teach Me Some Greek Level 3 from Greek ‘n’ Stuff . I received a student book ($21.95) and a full text answer key ($21.95) as well as an audio cd for pronunciation ($10.00) Although not designed within a framework of lessons, it is intended that students complete 1 page per day (including practicing flashcards).  A “Schedule of Lessons” provides a grid or frame  of 36 lessons or 1 per week. Each lesson contains 4 to 6 workbook pages. The firs

Reading Aloud Challenge 4/28

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Is it Thursday already?  This week is our Spring Break and relax and recover from Pascha week.  We did do some reading aloud this week because reading aloud is relaxing and enjoyable.  We didn’t finish any of our books this week but we’ve made progress and we’ve started a new one! This book comes the closest to being a “school” book.  We’re still reading about Robert Fulton.  This is a fascinating book.  In addition to learning more about the inventor, you also learn more about the invention.  The history of the invention.  We’ve been learning where Fulton got his ideas, who financed him and about others whose work inspired or contributed to Fulton’s steam engine. This is one of the books included in the Yesterday’s Classics bundle.  You’ll want to check out my review next week! Speaking of Yesterday’s Classics, here’s another book that we are enjoying from that Bundle we just started it this week and we’ve only read the first chapter.  The first chapter tells how Robin came to

Christ is Risen!

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From today for 40 days we’ll be singing: Christ is risen from the grave. Trampling down death by death. And upon those in the tomb bestowing life! Another of my favorites is this: Shine! Shine! O New Jersalem! The Glory of the Lord has shone on you. Exult and be glad O Zion. Be radiant O pure Theotokos in the resurrection of your Son. Pascha (Easter) is the greatest of the Church Feasts. Had Christ not risen from the grave our salvation could not be complete. He has triumphed over Death! He has secured for us the Victory! Christ is Risen from the Dead!  Have a blessed and wonderful Feast Day

TOS Review: See the Light Art Class DVD

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Vendor: See the Light Product: Art Class Format: 36 lessons on 9 DVD's or a monthly online subscription Ages: Ages 6 and above, or grades 1 and above Price:   DVD set=$99.99, Online Subscription=$10 Contact information: info@seethelightshine.com Website: http://www.seethelightshine.com Art Class by See the Light brings art instruction into your home through a series of step by step lessons.  As members of the TOS crew, we reviewed the first DVD containing lessons 1-4 and a bonus Chalk Art lesson.  Art Class is also available as a monthly online subscription. You can view free online lessons here . You can click here for access to information covered in each lesson.  Just click on the individual discs for more information about the lessons on that disc..  Alternately, you can click here to download a PDF containing the lesson details for the entire curriculum. My Thoughts: Pat is an engaging and energetic teacher whose love of art motivates her to share art with

Read Aloud Challenge 4/21

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Have you noticed my blog’s been a little more quiet this week?  That’s because we finished Great Lent and entered into Holy Week.  My primary focus has been the church services of Holy Week.  This Icon is called Christ the Bridegroom and is the icon for the services Sunday, Monday and Tuesday nights. I didn’t do a Read Aloud Challenge post last week so I’m stealing some time to sneak one in this week. It’s been such a full and busy past 10 days or so and I didn’t write down what we read so my memory is fuzzy.  It wasn’t much.   I have a vague recollection of reading from our 50 Great Stories ebook.  Oh and I’m sure we picked up the Great Inventions ebook but towards the end of the week, we  dropped our regular read alouds. Because this week is Holy Week, we have focused on reading aloud from The Incarnate God   .  It is a two volume set.  We are reading from Volume 2. We are reading selections from Lazarus Saturaday, Palm Sunday and then the Holy Days of the week. We are a little

TOS Review: Nutrition 101

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Over the years my family has had seasons of striving to eat healthier  followed by seasons of making poor choices.  I’ve always struggled though with how to teach my children about nutrition and the choices we make and I’ve struggled with what should I teach about nutrition? The study of nutrition is more than just a look into food and its nutrients.  It is an in-depth look at how we eat, what we eat, how the body works and how these foods affect the body.  This program is not a rehash of biology or science, but a discovery of how the body systems are affected by the foods--good or bad-- we eat. (page 5) Nutrition 101: Choose Life! published by Growing Healthy Homes is an answer to my prayer. This resource provides instruction that I can use to teach all 4 of the girls at the same time.   Before I get into how I’ve been using it let me make sure I give you the pertinent facts. Vendor: Growing Healthy Homes Product: Nutrition 101:Choosing Life! Format : Available on CD, as P

Five Question Friday

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Yes, I am aware that it is no longer Friday. It is actually Saturday evening.  I just never got around to finishing this up yesterday and I’ve been gone most of today.  I’m looking at a really busy but spiritually wonderful week.  I want to post this, even though it’s a day late, because I won’t be posting much this week. 1. What is your favorite sign of spring? The smell!  There is something fresh in the smell of the air.  I love how the smell in the air is different after the rain of spring versus the rain of winter.  It’s not just the scent of flowers trying to bloom but I can’t quite put my finger (or nose) on what it is. 2. What was your best birthday ever? Oddly the birthday that stands out as my best was supposed to be the worst.  For my 35th Birthday my husband deployed and my best friend moved.  Seriously!  My husband deployed 3 weeks before my birthday but wasn’t in the Big Sandbox until MY BIRTHDAY.  And my best  friend?  She moved the week of my birthday (I think it wa

Just a little ramble babble

It’s nearly time to head to bed.  We had sunshine today.  Beautiful sun that stayed out ALL day!   We’ll be taking time off from school for two weeks starting on Monday but boy I sure did want to drop all school today and just enjoy the sunshine. We’ve all been taking turns being sick for the last two to three weeks.  I am quite done with sickness now.  It can leave and not return and I’d be ok with that. It’s amazing or sad or both how being sick or having sick people in the house can really throw off routines and plans. Though we’ve tried getting some school done we just haven’t been as productive.  Each girl was sick enough to be unable to do anything but sleep for at least a day or two.  That would be fine except that they spaced it out over two weeks  and overlapped the “I’m too sick to really do anything but not sick enough to sleep all the time” phase with each other and with the “I’m not even able to stay awake” phase so that I don’t think I ever really had but one student ev

Meet Me On Monday 4/11

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  It’s Monday again.  Yes, it is *still* Monday here even though I am posting this much later than I have done in the past. 1.  Who would be your dream celebrity date? Date a celebrity? No thanks.  Seriously.  I would not want to be involved in a relationship with a celebrity.  There are *characters* I’d like to meet like Dr. Daniel Jackson but I have no desire to date the actor Michael Shanks.  2.  Do you have any food restrictions? Do you mean like food allergies or sensitivities?  No.  Not really.  I do have some food restrictions as part of my Orthodox Christian faith but that’s different and only on certain days and during certain seasons and it *is* a choice. 3.  How much time do you take to get ready in the morning? That depends.  Do I need to shower?  Do I have to direct family traffic and make sure *everyone* is ready or am I just responsible for me?  Do I get to include “wake up and be coherent time?”  15 minutes to an hour.  The less I have to do or worry about the

We have a winner!!! Starbucks Gift Card

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I want to thank everyone who took the time to enter my first ever blog giveaway!  I was overwhelmed with the responses!   I used a spreadsheet to number the comments/entries and then I used random.org to pick a number.  The winner is Wendy from www.choosinglove.net I’ve emailed Wendy to let her know that she won.  This giveaway has been so much fun that I’m sure I’ll be having more giveaways in the future.   Here is Wendy’s winning entry: Congratulations, Wendy!  I hope you enjoy your favorite drink and a few moments of bliss.

TOS Review: Science Weekly

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Published 15 times a year from September to May, Science Weekly explores one science or math topic per issue.  Resembling a newsletter format, issues are 4 (8 1/2 x 11) pages long and filled with age appropriate material and activities.  Each issue is available in 6 levels: Pre-A – geared  for grade K.  Level A—for grade 1 Level B—for grade 2   Level C—for grade 3 Level D---for grade 4 Level E—for grades 5-6 Each level contains a vocabulary section, a math section, a writing with science section and a lab.  You will also find a variety of challenges and puzzles.   On the Left: Level Pre A On the Right: Level E The Teacher Guide —In my opinion this is the heart of the publication.  It is a necessary component to adequately present the material for the younger students. The Teacher Guide also contains the answers to all the questions.  I would not want to use Science Weely without the Teacher Guide. My Thoughts ---  I received all 6 levels of one issue (Composting)a

Read Aloud Challenge Update 4/7

This past week I received my copy of Read for the Heart by Sarah Clarkson.  (Look for my review 5/27).  The timing is perfect (isn’t God’s timing perfect all the time?  I’m sure His hand was all over this as well!).  I know that reading aloud is wonderful for young children and I know that reading aloud as a family has many benefits but exactly why should I read aloud to my Teens ? Sarah Clarkson answers that question for me with this: “Especially in the teenage years, it is vital that kids be immersed in epic stories.  Most teenagers stumble into a phase of restless desire that includes a yearning for adventure and a hunger for meaning.” (p.23) She goes on to say that “books become a means of channeling and pouring that energy into a love for what is worthy and true.” (p. 24) We have really scaled back the reading aloud time our family because the girls were reading so many books independently.  Even our curriculum no longer schedule Read Aloud time.  We chose those books becaus

TOS Review: KinderBach

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I believe music education is an essential element in a well rounded academic program.  Music is wonderful for organizing the brain. 3 of my girls have been taking piano lessons for several years. We’ve also spent time just listening to different musical styles and genres as well as learning about some famous composers. Supergirl longs to be like her sisters but for a variety of reasons she is unable to take piano lessons with them.  This is where a program like KinderBach comes to the rescue. KinderBach uses playful characters to teach note reading, rhythm, singing, and composition t o kids ages 3-7 .  With Kinderbach  you can lay a great foundation for brain development. KinderBach offers both online and DVD classes. As a TOS Crew member I received a 3 month subscription to the online lessons.  Supergirl has been having a blast watching the lessons and participating in various activities such as coloring, clapping out or walking a rhythm, or using kitchen objects to “play” a song

Just where have I been?

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Last week a couple of my blogging friends posted a really neat map showing all the places they had visited. I’m a little late but I decided to join them.  I didn’t do Canada as I’ve  only been to one province and  I’ve only been to one place in Mexico.  I’m so geographically challenged that I wouldn’t even be able to tell you which Mexican state it was so I avoided the Mexico map as well. I have a goal of at least stepping foot in all 50 states.  When Honeybear was still active duty and we were still moving around all over the place, I had a better chance of achieving that goal but I think I’ve done fairly well so far.  You can clearly see by the white colored areas what I have missed.  There are two states that I haven’t really truly visited but I have actually stepped foot in them!  In fact I made it a point to put my feet on the ground so I could say I had been there. I  (Yup, I told my Honeybear to pull over to the side of the road so I could get out of the car and add that stat

Meet me on Monday 4/4

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I’m not a big fan of Mondays.  I guess I’m like Garfield. But there is a redeeming feature of Mondays and it can be found at Never Growing Old with the Meet Me on Monday meme.   Here are this week’s Questions: 1.  If you had to eat only one food for the rest of your life, what would it be? I don’t know.  I really need variety in my life.  I go nuts if dinner is just ONE thing.  It would have to be something that could be varied a bit day by day.  Maybe pizza.  I swear the rest of my family could eat only pizza for the rest of their lives and be perfectly satisfied. 2.  Do you write your blog posts in advance or the day you post them? Neither, Both?  Often I will start a blog post in advance but not necessarily schedule it.  I’ll start it on one day but polish, edit, and publish it on another. Sometimes I will actually write a post in advance and schedule it and sometimes I do start a post and publish it on the same the day. Depends on the topic and my mood I guess. 3.  Have

TOS Review: Go Go Kabongo

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In college, I chose psychology as my minor.  I focused on developmental psychology and chose classes such as The Developing Human and Child Development.  I was intrigued by cognitive development.  As a home schooling mother of a special needs, cognitively delayed daughter, I still find development, especially cognitive development, fascinating. I’ve done some research into the neurodevelopmental approach to education and so I was jumping up and down with excitement when I found out I had the opportunity to review Go Go Kabongo. According to Kabongo’s Website : Cognitive development is the process by which children improve their ability to think, learn, and reason, deriving meaning from the world around them. You can read more about Go Go Kabongo’s Cognitive Approach by clicking here . GoGoKabongo is an interactive online program featuring games structured to build cognitive skills that improve reading fluency and reading comprehension. These activities encourage development of s

Blog Celebration Giveaway!

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I’ve been looking for an excuse to host a give a way.  I thought oh I’ll do a giveaway when I reach 100 followers!  And then suddenly I had over a hundred. Then I thought ‘why don’t I celebrate when I’ve written 100 posts?’  Typical of me, I didn’t pay attention and I went right on writing past 100. So now, I’m thinking I’ve got to do a Give-A-Away this week because of the Ultimate Blog Party .   (You can read my Blog Party Introduction post here .) So I look at my post count this morning and I realize that THIS POST is my 150th Blog Post! So now, I’ll just *have* to give something away.  But what?  What can I give away?  I know.. Coffee!   I’d serve coffee (or tea) if you were sitting here with me in my dinning room chatting so here’s your chance to win a $15 Starbucks Coffee Gift Card To enter leave a comment.   I’ll use a random method (such as random.org) to choose a winner.  Winner will be announced April 9th! Required for first entry:  Tell me what you would purchase with

Recipe Repost: Yummy Leek, Potato & Fennel Soup.

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In honor of Mrs. White’s Christian Home blogzine, and because I just made this soup this weekend for church,  I’m going to share again this soup that I originally titled “ Soup Experiment ” This soup is hearty, filling, satisfying and perfect to serve to guests.  My family loves the soup and from the empty pot on Friday night, my church friends appeared to enjoy it as well. The soup is gluten free, dairy free and soy free.  I have struggled with what to serve my beloved friends with food restrictions.  It isn’t easy to think of menus when I don’t live with those allergies or sensitivities but I do not want that to stop me from practicing the art of hospitality. (I have enough other excuses that I must work through!) I did make one change from my original recipe.  Instead of using Oregon Spice Vegetable Broth Powder and water I used homemade veggie broth and then added enough water to cover potatoes.  I had veggies that needed to be used up or thrown away and were past the “serve cri

TOS Review: Les Miserables - z-guide to the Movies

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As a home school teacher I am always looking for fun but educational activities to round out our subjects. Usually I supplement our curriculum with topic related movies so I was thrilled to receive a Zguide to the Movies from Zeezok Publishing . Generously, Zeezok gave us a choice so we picked Les Miserables—z-guide to the movie Each ZGuide to the Movies contains: A How to Use this Guide Page —includes a suggested schedule for the activities.   A Topic Overview – presents background information necessary to give context to the movie. A detailed synopsis of the movie.  This is about one page in length and more detailed than the back of the DVD Cover. Ten Learning Activities —Students complete the  first activity, movie review questions, while watching the movie.  The other 9 activities provide “interdisciplinary educational opportunities built around the movie’s themes.” For Family Discussion- Discussion questions for the whole family.  Perfect for focused dinnertime topic