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Showing posts from 2018

My Love Affair with the Homeschool Review Crew!

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Yes I am specifically writing this post to link up to the Friday (I know it's not Friday!) Homeschool Blogger Link Up hosted by the Homeschool Review Crew a division of The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine.  This Crew Blog's post is Homeschool Review Crew Needs You.   Yep we want to grow the crew an to do that we need more home educating bloggers.  But not just bloggers.  We want Vloggers too!  Are you an active You Tube Vlogger?  We have a section in the 2019 Crew Application just for you! Now that you know why I am writing this post let me tell about my long term love affair with the Homeschool Review Crew.  We meet to speak when it was brand spanking new in 2008.  An online friend and co-moderator with me of an online email group for home school support had just embarked on the Maiden Voyage of this new concept of receiving home school product in exchange for a review!  Back in those days you didn't have to be a blogger you just had to have a place such as a home school s

Introducing GrammarPlanet ~ Homeschool Review Crew

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As a Crew Leader for the Homeschool Review Crew I typically do not write reviews.  I become familiar with the product so that I can do my job as Review Quality Manager.  From time to time , I come across an amazing product that I love so much that I choose to write a review simply because I love the product. GrammarPlanet  is one of those products that I love so much that I want to share it with my readers. GrammarPlanet is an online subscription based program to teach students of any level. This program can be used with students who have had no previous grammar instruction as well as students who have had quite a bit more experience. So what is GrammarPlanet?  GrammarPlanet "is the brainchild of Erin Karl and Jerry Baily."  Let me share with you what Erin shared with me about GrammarPlanet: The creation of GrammarPlanet is the realization of a years-long dream to be able to make grammar education … REAL grammar education … available and affordable for anyone, re

Thankful Thursday 5 Days of Homeschool Encouragement

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It's Thursday!  Thankful Thursday and day 4 of the Back to School 5 Days of Encouragement Blog hop hosted by the Homeschool Review Crew! Today's post is simple and to the point. I am grateful for the Homeschool Review Crew.  I started as crew member in June 2010  which was the start of Year 3. I've been serving on the crew since then coming back for Year 4, the short transitional 2012 and continuing with 2013, 2014 and 2015.  In 2016 I stepped up into the role of Crew Leader. Through the Crew I have made some fabulous friends.  I've been introduced to vendors I never would have known about and tried products that I never knew i needed until I reviewed them. Money has been tight. Some years more tight than others.  God certainly used the Homeschool Review Crew to provide curriculum that I might not have been able to afford otherwise. Because of the Crew I've had a change to try different reading and math programs with Supergirl and really get to know

Work it Wednesday 5 Days of Homeschool Encouragement from the Homeschool Review Crew

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Today's theme for the Back to School 5 Days of Homeschool Encouragement  is Work It In Wednesday! Today I want to share about how homeschooling isn't just form of education but a way of life.  One of my big goals for home education was to instill a love of life long learning in my children.  Just because it isn't a school day or we are on vacation doesn't mean that education doesn't happen. We live in a state that requires instructional hours.  Something equivalent to 5.5 "instructional" hours a day for 180 days.  Thankfully my state recognizes that home education can be more efficient than classroom education in a public school. We tended to do 'year round' schooling taking breaks as life thew its punches.  During the summer we did more "fun" school like hands on science but my favorite thing about "homeschool as a lifestyle" is that going on vacation didn't mean a break from learning.  It meant a break from forma

Take a Look Tuesday Back to School Blog Hop with the Homeschool Review Crew

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I think the greatest lesson I have learned as a homeschooling mama is to be flexible.  Being flexible isn't easy for me.  I don't like change.  I like having my road maps (i.e. lessons plans laid out for me) but I learned to love the detours. Having a "game plan" or a "road map" at the beginning of the year, meant that I knew where I wanted to go even if we didn't finish in June.  We always schooled year around with doing more "hands on" and "fun" schooling during the summer so I gave up early on trying to squeeze 36 weeks or 1100 hours of education between September and June. In today's Take a Look Tuesday post which is part of the Back to School  5 Days of Homeschool Encouragement Blog Hop hosted by the Homeschool Review Crew I am going to share my general road map for studying American History for the 2018-2019 school year for Supergirl. If you're you're hopping over form another Crew member blog, let me br

Monday Motivation Homeschool Review Crew Back to School Blog Hop

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I started investigating homeschooling as an education option for my family when my oldest, who was then my only, was 14 months old.  We were an active duty army family stationed in Germany and my husband was deployed to another country.  At the same time that I was introduced to home education my husband had stumbled across it.  We felt it must have been God working it out to bring us to decide together to homeschool. That was 22 years ago.  My husband changed up his career path and we continued to be a homeschooling family. We've had 3 of our 4 daughters graduate from our home school.  I continue to home educate Supergirl who is our medically fragile, developmentally delayed special needs daughter. As I thought about what to write for this Motivation Monday, the first day of Homeschool Review Crew's Back to School 5 Days of Homeschool Encouragement Blog Hop I couldn't decide if I wanted to talk about the encouragement I've been getting from Julie Polanco's God

Passing on the Love of Rocks!

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Thank you Northwest Treasures and the Homeschool Review Crew for the opportunity to review Rocks and Minerals for Little Eyes  from their Geology for "Little Eyes" series. Many years ago when I was trying to finish up my Associate of Arts degree I needed to take a science with a Lab or another math class.  I looked at the math classes and went nope. Not happening.  I looked at the science classes. Remember it had to have a lab.  I quickly crossed off Biology. I was not about to dissect anything.  Chemistry was the next to go as it had too much math involved.  I settled for something called Physical Geography.  It was listed as a science. It had a lab.  It met the requirements I needed.  I fell in love.  Physical Geography is part of the Earth Sciences.  It's geology that focuses on the physical characteristics of the Earth's lithosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere, and biosphere.  I mostly remember the lithosphere stuff.  I was hooked on geology. I went on to

B is for Bug {Another Alphabet style update!}

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I'm back again with another update!  Did you see the A update?  A is for Academics . I'm wanting to get caught up to fully participate in the newest round of Blogging Through The Alphabet which is now hosted by the lovely Amanda at  Hopkins Homeschool  and Kirsten from  Doodlemom . This part of my "Update Alphabet Style"  series of posts since I did not have a blog posts for a very long time! B is for Bug! No not an insect.  Bug is a young, adorable, black, domestic short hair cat that we adopted Mother's Day weekend.  She was Honeybear's gift to me for Mother's Day. During Holy Week, our beloved George the Cat got very sick.  His bladder was blocked and he spent the night in the vet hospital.  We brought him home on Tuesday evening and the vet was hopeful that he would recover, but over the next few days he began to decline.  On Holy Friday we made the difficult decision that it was time to say good bye. His bladder was blocked again

A is for Academics (Alphabet Style Updating!)

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Yes, Yes we are still alive here! It has been ages since I posted.  I had such plans for posting far more frequently. I even planned to join in a new round of Blogging Through The Alphabet which is now hosted by the lovely Amanda at Hopkins Homeschool  and Kirsten from Doodlemom . Since I am weeks behind I thought I'd do an update of sorts Alphabet Style! A is for Academics! Boobear applied to a few local grad school programs. I am so thrilled and proud to announce that she was accepted by her first choice school and will be starting the Masters in Social Work program this fall! Turtlegirl finished up her 2nd year at University and will be heading back in the fall for her third year.  She received recognition from the Foreign Language Department as an outstanding second year German student!  Did I tell you that she is now officially a Pre-Law student? She's majoring in Philosophy with a minor in German. Tailorbear rocked her first year at technical college and is

Revisiting First Form Latin from Memoria Press {Crew Review}

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Way back on my 2nd year on the crew I reviewed First Form Latin from Memoria Press .  I was so impressed that I purchased two additional student work books so my three "big" girls could study Latin together. Boobear wanted to revisit Latin.  She asked me if we could get a new student workbook so she could go through the program again.  Her timing was perfect. Memoria Press generously included a new student workbook in my Crew Leader package.   We already had the rest of the set and only needed the Student Book. Memoria Press recommends First Form Latin for grades 4-9.  I think this age range works well if the younger students have completed Prima Latina or Latina Christiana.  I believe this to be an excellent introduction to Latin for students in 6th grade and older including adults. The Complete Set of materials includes: Student Text -- 9 x 7.5 inches.  Each of the 34 lessons are are concisely presented on a two page spread.  120 pages.  Includes 7 Appendic