Friday, August 30, 2013

Review: Look Right, Look Left, Look Right Again! (board book)

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It was so fun to review this new book from Greene Bark Press, Inc.: Look Left, Look Right, Look Left Again, which is written for ages 3-8 and sells for $8.50.

This 26 page board book by Ginger Pate is well illustrated by Rhett Pennell. The colorful illustrations tell of a little boy duck, Wally Waddlewater, and of the card he wants to mail to his grandmother. Each two page spread tells a part of his journey to the post-office. The word counts per page range from 26 to more than 60. Wally encounters cars, trucks, buses, stop lights, trains, and even an elephant... as he learns to look left,  right, and left again, and be sure nothing is in sight. All the while Wally's mother is along to keep him safe and teach him. At the end of the book he finally crosses the street alone and makes a visit to his grandma.


How we used this:
We live in the country, but our road has very high speed traffic with low visibility. I rarely allow my two youngest to go to the mailbox alone. This book gave us a good opportunity to talk about proper safety when approaching a roadway, and a little repeated phrase that has really stuck in their heads. My kids are 5 and 7 though, and a bit old for board books. I also read this book to my nephew, who is one and a half years old. He LOVES board books and loved the colorful illustrations. He said "quack quack" every time he saw Wally. But, the pages had too many words to get the point across and he lost interest in each page long before I was finished reading it. It's possible that a 3 or 4 year old might do better with it, but even my bigger kids found it too wordy. The pages could have been much more concisely phrased, even with the repeated line:


"Look left, Look right, Look left again."



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As a side note: My sister recently returned from a trip to Scotland, and she pointed out to me that if you live anywhere besides the USA, you might want to reverse the title of this book to "Look Right, Look Left, Look Right Again." Hehehe!

 Be sure to read all the other reviews of this book over on the crew blog:

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©2012-2013 Loving and Learning on the High Plains. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://www.homeschoolhighplains.blogspot.com


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*Prices and links are accurate at the time this is published, and are subject to change.

Thursday, August 29, 2013

Crew Year Progress


We are now 3/4 of the way through the Review Crew year, and I'm amazed at all the wonderful things we've reviewed! Here's an update of what we have done, and what is up-coming. You can always see this list if you click the "Homeschool" tab above as well.

Reviews For the CREW:

Disclaimer:  I received a free copy of this product through the Schoolhouse Review Crew in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way. All opinions I have expressed are my own or those of my family. I am disclosing this in accordance with the FTC Regulations.


©2012-2013 Loving and Learning on the High Plains. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://www.homeschoolhighplains.blogspot.com

Wednesday, August 28, 2013

WW: Why I live here...









Linked:
Wordless Wednesday on Only Passionate Curiosity



©2012-2013 Loving and Learning on the High Plains. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://www.homeschoolhighplains.blogspot.com

Monday, August 26, 2013

Back to {Home} School Day

All across facebook there are pictures of kids with new backpacks and books waiting in the driveway for the bus. It's back-to-school season. And then there's us. We joke that we buy new PJ's when we go "school clothes" shopping. As we prepare to return to school next week, I realized we've got a few back-to-{home}school traditions too!

Over time, we have tried out several different school schedules. But the final and best has been our Labor Day to May Day schedule. Starting on Labor Day gives us a definite deadline, and since the banks and PO's are closed, what else were we going to do anyway?  :)

We usually start our first day with something unusual and yummy for breakfast. One year it was funnel cakes! Then we finish the day with some kinds of reward, like swimming at the lake! No matter how we change it up, we always get a great picture of everyone sitting at the table "doing school" on the very first day. These are my favorites:












Read everyone else's traditions by clicking the button below! (goes live Tues am)

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©2012-2013 Loving and Learning on the High Plains. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://www.homeschoolhighplains.blogspot.com

Sunday, August 25, 2013

Times and Seasons

pregnant Fluffy, due any moment.

1 Thessalonians 5: 1-5

1 But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you. 2 For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. 3 For when they say, “Peace and safety!” then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape. 4 But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief. 5 You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness.

Linked:

Scripture and Snapshot

©2012-2013 Loving and Learning on the High Plains. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://www.homeschoolhighplains.blogspot.com

Thursday, August 22, 2013

Review: Doorposts, Because You Are Strong


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We were very blessed to review Doorposts' book Because You Are Strong this month. I requested it for Tyler since it was for ages 10-12 and up. He is 12, so this was right at his comprehension level. You can view a sample of the study work here.

I have been meeting with a sweet woman mentor at our church for some time, and we have talked quite a bit about my role in the spiritual upbringing of our children. I have always struggled with how much influence I should have in that arena, so as not to subvert my husband's authority as spiritual leader of our home. I always want him, as the head of our home, to take the initiative in leading, and in teaching our children to follow God. She encouraged me that this is actually a job that God has given me, to disciple my children in the ways of Christ, as I follow my husband. I hadn't really ever looked at it that way. So, hesitancy aside, I asked my hubby if he minded if Tyler jumped into this study with him or myself to help. Because of my hubby's heavy work load right now, I helped Tyler more often than not. But with a new perspective of my role, I was ok with that.
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Because You Are Strong is a wonderful softcover book of 100 pages. It includes 10 studies and a review, as well as an introduction and an extra chapter of alternate questions for young ladies. Through each of the studies there are two things being accomplished:

  • And overall study of Biblical strength for Godly manhood.
  • Exercises in the various methods and skills of true Bible Study.
In the introduction, the author points out that:


2 Timothy 3:16-17
All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

"The ability to study Scripture will serve you well throughout your life, no matter what callings and responsibilites God gives you. If you know how to study God's Word, you'll be prepared to stand strong."

The 10 studies are broken into daily assignments, which should take from 5 to 20 minutes to complete. They took a little longer than that for Tyler, but mostly because he struggles with writing, and there is room for plenty of that. After watching him struggle with the writing burden for a bit, we decided to do it orally, and I helped with taking notes in the book. It's a discipline he needs to get better with, but I didn't want to push him to hate this study because of all the writing and miss out on the concepts being presented. Tyler really got into the exercises teaching him how to utilize study tools such as:

  • Nave's Topical Bible
  • Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
  • English Dictionary
  • Thesaurus

We found that it was really easy to use these tools for free online. The text suggested using the website www.biblestudytools.com, and that worked very well.

All together, there are 74 daily studies and extra questions that could easily stretch this out to be a year long study. It would be a nice choice for a Bible curriculum for a year anywhere during 6th, 7th, or 8th grade, in my opinion. The Bible study skills covered included:

  • Topical Study
  • Word Study
  • Meditating on Scripture
  • Character Study
  • Book Study
  • Verse Study
  • Chapter Study 
  • Study of Jesus Actions

Bottom Line:
I loved the thorough way this book taught several different skill sets for Bible study in a practical and hands-on way. I loved that Tyler became more comfortable with using study tools to glean even more out of Scripture. The topic of Biblical Strength is very timely for boys of his age (10-12 years). There is a good deal of writing required, but I hope most boys don't struggle with it as we did. Overall I really recommend this book/study for any young man or young lady (wanting to know what a Godly man of strength looks like). Priced at $14, it is very reasonable considering how much material is covered!

Note (expires 8/31/13):

  • Because You Are Strong is on sale for $2 off! 
  • Also, the other book reviewed by the crew was Beauty of the Heart, and it is also on sale for those who pre-order: "Free bonus! Pre-order today and get an instant-download eBook copy for free ($10 value) Pre-order for $14 (books will ship by Thursday, 8/29)"

Be sure to read all the other reviews of this book, as well as the reviews of Beauty in the Heart:

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©2012-2013 Loving and Learning on the High Plains. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://www.homeschoolhighplains.blogspot.com


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*Prices and links are accurate at the time this is published, and are subject to change.

Friday, August 16, 2013

Long Days and Short Nights

I know I've been posting a lot of school related posts and curriculum reviews lately. Much of the science and curriculum posts were written a while back, and lately, other than a few review products we're enjoying... school has been the farthest thing from our minds. We do take a pretty good break from May Day to Labor Day. This week all of the local schools are starting up, and I am SO thankful we aren't. This summer has gone fast enough!

The theme of the summer seems to be long days and short nights, and not just because the sun stays up later than in the winter. I don't know how year-round schoolers do it, frankly! From garden bounty to can, to summer sports and fairs, we haven't had a break!

In June we had baseball and softball. With all four kids playing, we were at the ball-fields 6 days a week. Most of the games ran from 6-8, but some from 8-10... or back to back and we did 6-10! We had practices called off for snow, and games in 100 degree heat. It was a crazy time. The final games finished up the day before the 4th of July. We celebrated the 4th by climbing the local landmark, Scott's Bluff. It was a 3 mile round trip in the dark, but watching the city fireworks from the top was totally worth it. I just shouldn't have worn my sandals.

The next weekend was our 13th anniversary, and the local parade. The following weekend we had my in-laws as houseguests and Tyler's 12th birthday. The weekend after that we enjoyed a visit from my cousin Andi and her boys, and we hiked the Bluff again. Only two days after they left, my brother and his sweet wife and son came to stay for a week. It was a wonderful time, and of course... we took them hiking up the Bluff. ;) That put us well into August.

The day after they flew home we began the county fair, and spent an entire week driving across the county to care for our animals at the fairground.  The week went quickly and we tried not to miss a thing. Tyler and Emma both participated in Poultry Showmanship, Breed Showing, and Market Showing. Mayda participated in Cat Showmanship and Poultry Showmanship. Wyatt behaved himself very well considering he was bored and tired most of the week. :)

Finishing out the weekend was another great visit from Hubby's folks, and they got to watch the kids in the 4H auction! Wrapping up the fair by attending a concert with the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band really topped it all off. And all the while all I could think of was: "Would it be crazy to cat nap during a super-loud concert?" I was SO tired!

In June we had to completely replace the motor in Ben's truck, and are only just now getting caught back up on those bills. Due to the crazy ball schedule, my garden nearly died of neglect, but it's finally coming around. I put up my first batch of jelly, and can see salsa season coming right around the corner.

The kids really pulled out all the stops and helped put up 200 ears of corn on Monday. Emma did all the blanching herself, and Tyler did all the cob cutting. That left me with shucking and bagging. They are getting to be such a great help! And did I mention my hubby butchered all the fryers the day the fair ended? That Grand Champion Cornish Rock is now in the freezer in an unmarked gallon freezer bag.

All this isn't to complain, but really just so I can write it all out, and remember later why we didn't go camping this summer (although our camper turns out to be a really handy guest cottage!).

And to be thankful... for all this!
The health to enjoy it.
The energy to accomplish (9 miles of up and down the Bluff in less than 30 days!).
The garden to enjoy.
The chickens to entertain us.
The cool nights.
The hot days.
The generous friends.
The cousins and family visitors.
The neighbor dogs we pet-sat. (all 6 of them, from 4 households!)
The beans replanted.
The weeds pulled.
The clothes we get to wear and enjoy. and wash. and dry. and fold. (maybe)
The sunsets we photograph.
The sunsets we savor.
The hugs and snuggles.
The late night conversations.
The early rising sun.
My early rising son.
My Father whose grace is enough.
A woman mentor who helps me see how to fill up, so I can pour out...
    and pour and pour and pour...
The farmer's markets.
The special granola orders.
The wonderful rains.
Beautiful flowers.
The flood in the basement from a freshly burst pipe.
The basement floor now nice and clean.
The guests coming tomorrow, and Saturday, and Monday...
The great review products we've enjoyed.
Our love for each-other.
The sweet spot of parenting (kids old enough to help and care, young enough to like to be with us!)
The anguish on my knees.
The friendships mourned. missing.
The friendships beginning anew.
The loneliness that draws me to my Father.
Enough stuff to get us through.
Of late nights.
And early mornings.... where His mercy is new.


All is grace.
<3



©2012-2013 Loving and Learning on the High Plains. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://www.homeschoolhighplains.blogspot.com

Wednesday, August 14, 2013

WW: County Fair







Linked:
Wordless Wednesday on Only Passionate Curiosity






©2012-2013 Loving and Learning on the High Plains. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://www.homeschoolhighplains.blogspot.com

Monday, August 12, 2013

Review: Notgrass America the Beautiful

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You would not believe how excited I was to be chosen to review the Notgrass Company: America the Beautiful history course curriculum package for grades 5-8, as well as a Student Workbook (grades 5-6) and Lesson Review (grades 7-8). This is how excited:

I was willing to do school work (like book-work!) in the summer! 


My friends who know me are surely all *shocked*. I'm pretty dedicated to our goal of no traditional school from May Day to Labor Day. We usually focus on the reading program at the library, sports, and outdoor learning all summer long. But since this review came up, I was willing to bend the rule.

Here's why... they sent us:
*America the Beautiful Part 1
This book has 75 lessons beginning with life in America before Europeans came and continuing through the first years after the Civil War. Hardcover. Color and black and white illustrations. 452 pages.
*America the Beautiful Part 2
This book has 75 lessons beginning with America's expansion into the lands west of the Mississippi River and continuing to modern times. It also includes an index to the curriculum. Hardcover. Color and black and white illustrations. 572 pages.
*We the People
A collection of 150 original journal entries, newspaper articles, advertisements, poems, songs, letters, short stories, speeches, and other historic documents from American history. Hardcover. Black and white illustrations. 220 pages.
*Maps of America the Beautiful
A collection of 30 maps drawn especially to accompany this curriculum. Your child will often refer to a map while reading a lesson in America the Beautiful and do activities on the map at the end of the lesson. Saddle-stitched. 61 pages.
*Timeline of America the Beautiful
This is an illustrated timeline of American history from AD 1000 to the present designed specifically to include facts learned in the lessons. Some facts are already printed on the timeline. After most lessons, your child will add an event mentioned in the lesson to the timeline. Saddle-stitched. 57 pages.
*America the Beautiful Answer Key
Includes answers for the Timeline, Student Workbook, Lesson Review, and the vocabulary assignments included in the main text. Saddle-stitched. 55 pages. 
Which sell for $99.95.

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They also sent:
*America the Beautiful Student Workbook A book of crosswords, find-a-words, matching, codes, drawing assignments, and other handwork activities which review and reinforce information learned in the daily lessons. This book is designed for students in 5th and 6th grades, but it is suitable for older children who enjoy these types of activities. Plastic coil. 150 pages. Consumable. $11.95
*America the Beautiful Lesson Review A book of daily lesson review questions, literature review questions, and weekly quizzes. This book is designed to help parents measure their child's comprehension of the material. This book is designed for students in 7th and 8th grades, but it is suitable for younger children who prefer this type of review. Plastic coil. 110 pages. Consumable.  $9.95
It was like Christmas in July when the box came! It was beautifully packaged and the books are nice and durable. After several weeks of use in our home they are still new looking and shiny.


How we used this:
We began right away doing one lesson per day. We only have a 4 day school week so with 5 lessons per unit, we didn't always do lessons 1-5 on Monday through Friday, but we did, at times, do two lessons to stay caught up.

Each day we would open up America the Beautiful (volume 1), and read the lesson (an average of 4-5 pages, including pictures).  Originally, I had asked my two children who were using this to read it themselves, but true to their learning styles, that didn't work. I then chose to read the lesson aloud to all four kids, while they worked in the accompanying books. Mayda (grade 2) would fill in the Timeline blanks, as well as color the nice black and white line drawing illustrations. Emma (grade  5) would fill in the blanks in the Student Workbook, often doing a game or puzzle using facts from the lesson. Tyler (grade 6) would do the Map coloring and assignments. This helped them all to listen more closely, and they sat near me so they could see the illustrations as well. Ultimately, I think it would work best if you ordered a student workbook for each student. We just split it up this way due to their varied interests and abilities.

The Lesson Review book is for upper grades, and so has less illustration, and more fill in the blanks questions, approximately 4-5 questions per daily lesson. We just answered those orally together. After the lesson was read, we would read the selection from We the People that corresponded. So, for example while studying the Native American people, we read Indian Child Life by Eastman (1913 AD).  Or when we were studying the Pilgrims, we read excerpts from Of Plymouth Plantation, by Bradford (1620 AD). We love this aspect a LOT because my kids know how much more reliable an original source is when researching facts.

Aside from each of these activities, which there were usually 6 or so at the end of each lesson, we enjoyed the "Thinking Biblically" Scripture passage that went with each lesson. There were also vocabulary assignments in every lesson as well.

In one lesson of each unit there would be a weekly Family Activity, such as imitating a colonial printing press or building an Indian lodge model out of gumdrops and toothpicks, in an earlier lesson. We tried that one out and had a really fun time with it.

Also, there are Literature selections for books to read along with the text, and in the assignments at the end of each daily lesson, there are a few chapters of reading assigned. The books assigned were all readily available at my public library, but can also be purchased from Notgrass. They come to less than $6 a title, so very affordable. The book assigned for the units we covered was The Sign of the Beaver. 

Content:
I loved this history book because it focused on History from a uniquely Christian standpoint, that God ordains the course of human events for His glory. From the Biblical worldview to the Scripture in each and every lesson, this curriculum kept the focus on Christ. Doing that, it also focused well on facts, names, and dates... and through the lesson assignments re-enforced them in many ways. From the tactile leaner to the auditory learner, this set was a "pick up and go" kind of thing, and I LOVED that.

The introduction of the textbook also included all the information on how to use everything, including a chart for how to adapt it for every grade from 5th to 8th. I also included tips on how to use it without becoming overwhelmed and offered the publisher's contact information for "When you need encouragement." This just knocked my socks off!

The book not only covers History, but also Geography and Biography. I loved how each unit was laid out. Within the unit, the lessons were of varying types to highlight each of these facets of history:

  • Our American Story - Major evens for the time period being studied
  • God's Wonders - Natural wonders that were created by God, here in America
  • An American Landmark - Important places in American history
  • An American Biography - Focusing on a specific person in American history.
  • and Daily Life - telling how life was lived in America during specific periods of American history. 

What I liked:

  • The variety of the material covered (see above bullet points). 
  • That the beautiful texts are re-usable, only needing to buy new workbooks. 
  • The photos on every page are stunning and are well labeled and described within the text. 
  • These books were written by homeschoolers, and it shows that they "get" how family school works. 
  • The quality of the material covered. 
  • The flexibility of this program for a unit study type approach or a more traditional approach. This would work for nearly anyone.
  • The amount of original source material solidly grounds this history text in absolute fact, not opinion.
  • That the literature assignments were readily available at my public library.

What I didn't like:

  • Only that I had never heard of the Notgrass Company, and I had no idea how much I would LOVE these books. I am talking about them to every one I know: they are that good. How had I never heard of them!?
  • Now I need to save up so we can keep using this program through the years. I am SOLD on this one.


Bottom Line:
This is a treasure. I would recommend it to ALL of my friends. It is enjoyable, beautiful, and well done. The Biblical worldview is an important component, and doesn't feel added or contrived. The family activities were easy and memorable. I really would recommend these books to anyone, and recommend that they use them together as a family as much as possible.

Be sure to read other's reviews of this series, as well as the Notgrass Draw to Learn books, head over to the Crew Blog:

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©2012-2013 Loving and Learning on the High Plains. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://www.homeschoolhighplains.blogspot.com


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*Prices and links are accurate at the time this is published, and are subject to change.

Sunday, August 11, 2013

Heartily

Tyler and Emma with the judge
after taking Grand Champion
and first purple at the county fair. 

Colossians 3:23-24
And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ.




Linked:

Scripture and Snapshot

©2012-2013 Loving and Learning on the High Plains. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://www.homeschoolhighplains.blogspot.com

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