Peering through a Mist

Castle Rock, in a pre-dawn mist.

I Cor. 13: 12-13

"We don’t yet see things clearly. We’re squinting in a fog, peering through a mist. But it won’t be long before the weather clears and the sun shines bright! We’ll see it all then, see it all as clearly as God sees us, knowing him directly just as he knows us!

But for right now, until that completeness, we have three things to do to lead us toward that consummation: Trust steadily in God, hope unswervingly, love extravagantly. And the best of the three is love."

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Review: Apologia Zoology 2 and Notebooking Journal

Curriculum Review: Exploring Creation with Zoology 2: Swimming Creatures of the Fifth Day from Apologia Educational Ministries 

Over the past few weeks, we have had the opportunity to try out the Textbook and Regular Notebooking Journal of the Apologia Zoology 2 course. The coursebook was hardbound and retails for $39, while the notebooking journal was soft covered and spiral bound and retails for $24.

I had heard that each of the books could stand alone, and did not have to be done in order, so I specifically requested this book even though we had not done Zoology 1. We had been studying sea creatures in our other coursework, and I knew the kids would be excited about it. After I had ordered it, I began to worry that I might wish that I had requested Zoology 1 first. It turned out to be absolutely fine, as we were able to jump right in.

My first impression of the book was that the text seemed really simple.  While it had a few good illustrations on each page, it was not full of graphic design, no colorful text boxes, etc. I was worried my kids wouldn't be that "into it." As I read the first pages to them aloud (just to get a feel) I realized this was well written, and completely engaging. They were excited!

This course is geared for grades K-6. Tyler and Emma are in 5th and 4th grades (respectively), and so we often let them share coursework. They were happy to set aside their other sciences for a month to try this out. Every day they sat and did the reading assignments together, and then we all (including my Kindergartner and 1st grader) participated in the fun experiments. Tyler and Emma also shared the Notebooking journal, although I would possibly order a second copy next time.

As we worked through the first few lessons, I was amazed at a few things. The text offered really rich information, which I felt would be difficult to retain.  But, after using the notebooking journal immediately to write their thoughts on what they had learned, my kids actually remembered it!

The second thing I noticed was nothing short of a miracle. Tyler was writing in the Notebooking journal. This is the kid who cries every day when his language book asks him to think of new adjectives for sentences? That is the  level of creativity he struggles with... and he was writing! He seemed to have no trouble engaging with the notebooking journal, because he was just repeating facts that he'd just read. Tricky book, getting my kid to write and retain knowledge. So sneaky! ;)

Actually, not so sneaky. The author notes in the front cover of the Notebooking Journal:

"The concept of notebooking is not a new one. In fact, keeping notebooks was the primary way the learned men of our past educated themselves.... Studies show that we remember only 5% of what we hear, 50% of what we see and hear, and 90% of what we see, hear, and do." 

-Jeannie Fulbright (Zoology 2, Notebooking Journal, page 3)

Of course, my favorite part of the notebooking journal was the schedule in the front that had the book and notebook broken into daily bites with a way to get through the 17 lessons and match the appropriate lessons with the right notebook pages, and with the right activities. All the guesswork was gone. I quickly penciled in dates in the margins, so we could see right where we should be. The lessons are laid out so you can do it two days a week, completing one lesson every two weeks. In a typical school year of 34 weeks you can easily do finish book.

We stepped up the pace and did a lesson per week, so we could give this a good try before sharing the review. We did the book 4 days a week, and spent about 30 to 45 minutes on it. I was amazed at how easy it was for me as the teacher to facilitate. Really, do not buy the book without getting the notebooking journal, this made the whole thing for us.

I think that one reason that it is so fun, and yet so well absorbed, is all the fun experiments we tried. We did not have to buy anything to do these experiments,  as most of the supplies were things we already had (or could improvise). When studying ocean currents, we used a hair dryer and showed how the wind effected the water currents (see above photo). We also made a fun little booklet where the kids made notes about aquatic animals (left), and many other projects and hand's on activities.

It also worked well for me that this was not grade specific, as Tyler and Emma (being only one grade apart), benefited greatly  from doing it together. And really, everyone was able to join in on some level. The kids enjoyed this part of their school day, so much so that they have requested we stick with this and not go back to our previous Science curriculum.

I was talking about this book with another homeschooling mom and her comment to me was about the depth of the curriculum. It does not skim the subject, but delves deeply into it and covers it completely. Yet is doesn't go over their heads. By the end of this year we will know more than I could have ever hoped about ocean life and sciences.

Bottom Line:

I like this curriculum because:

• It knocks it out of the ballpark when it comes to retaining the information, especially if you invest in using the notebooking journal.
• It was fun and easy to do the experiments with everyday household supplies.
• My kids were excited to do it every day. 
• It covers the subject material completely and deeply.
• The lesson schedule in the front of the notebooking journal, the planning was done for me.

I did not like:

• With all that depth, I did not feel it explored the broad range of the sciences in a very clear way, or in a way that identified the different scientific arenas. This is important to me for the upper grades as they prepare for high school. 
• That's it, I could only find one thing I did not like!

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.

Click to read more reviews from the Schoolhouse Review Crew



©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 

Make your own Gospel Valentine

This year the kids are making valentines to deliver to two different nursing homes. I am super thankful that my kids love on these people! We visit the nursing home where my grandma lives once a week or more. It's amazing to see how much love these folks have to share with the kids and how patient they are with them. Truly, there is no greater gift we can give than the Gospel.

I recently saw a post on Pinterest showing a bulletin board showing the word "Valentine" in John 3:16. But we noticed it was a shortened version of the verse, so we made a new one... whole verse included, for the front of our valentines. Feel free to print these up for your own valentines! Because nothing says "Love" like the gift of eternal life!

Here's the link to the document, so you can print your own!

John 15:13
Greater love hath no man than this, 
that a man lay down his life for his friends. 

When the disciples are the teachers

Two weeks ago. There was so much to do. It was a busy week, and it was my turn to cook for the Awana crowd. Tuesday's school lessons were a blur, but Mayda was motivated by something or other to get caught up. She was behind in Bible. Yes, the Bible curriculum that I had said I wasn't going to use; she really likes it. After failing to click with her two older siblings, this one clicks with her. The lesson that day was about sin. Not sin you commit, but the sin of omission. Knowing to do something and not doing it. I wanted to hurry through it, but she had figured out how to listen to the Bible readings on the smart phone... so she looked them up, and we read:

Matthew 25:31-46
31-33 “When he finally arrives, blazing in beauty and all his angels with him, the Son of Man will take his place on his glorious throne. Then all the nations will be arranged before him and he will sort the people out, much as a shepherd sorts out sheep and goats, putting sheep to his right and goats to his left.
34-36 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Enter, you who are blessed by my Father! Take what’s coming to you in this kingdom. It’s been ready for you since the world’s foundation. And here’s why:
I was hungry and you fed me,
I was thirsty and you gave me a drink,
I was homeless and you gave me a room,
I was shivering and you gave me clothes,
I was sick and you stopped to visit,
I was in prison and you came to me.’
37-40 “Then those ‘sheep’ are going to say, ‘Master, what are you talking about? When did we ever see you hungry and feed you, thirsty and give you a drink? And when did we ever see you sick or in prison and come to you?’ Then the King will say, ‘I’m telling the solemn truth: Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me—you did it to me.’
41-43 “Then he will turn to the ‘goats,’ the ones on his left, and say, ‘Get out, worthless goats! You’re good for nothing but the fires of hell. And why? Because—
I was hungry and you gave me no meal,
I was thirsty and you gave me no drink,
I was homeless and you gave me no bed,
I was shivering and you gave me no clothes,
Sick and in prison, and you never visited.’
44 “Then those ‘goats’ are going to say, ‘Master, what are you talking about? When did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or homeless or shivering or sick or in prison and didn't help?’
45 “He will answer them, ‘I’m telling the solemn truth: Whenever you failed to do one of these things to someone who was being overlooked or ignored, that was me—you failed to do it to me.’
46 “Then those ‘goats’ will be herded to their eternal doom, but the ‘sheep’ to their eternal reward.”

We talked about what it means to serve Christ through serving others, and how a heart obedient to Him will follow His leading. Mayda pondered that for a bit and she said, "I want to bake some bread."

There is a woman who comes to the farmer's market and buys bread. After buying some of the bread we sold there, she called and asked if she could order bread regularly. So every so often I deliver the bread to her home and we chat. The last time I delivered bread before Christmas, we brought cookies. Her husband had fallen and broken his hip and was not doing well. I felt a nudging from the Spirit to do more, but I felt the bag of cookies was enough. I had invited her to church. But she was on my mind. Mayda didn't know that. Other than joining me in praying for the woman and her husband, she didn't know the struggle in my heart. What did He want me to do?


But here a few weeks after Christmas: Mayda read God's Word, her heart was pricked, and she knew just what she wanted to do.

Me: "Bake bread?"

Mayda: "Do you remember that lady who buys your bread? I want to bake bread for her. I know she's sad that her husband is sick. And I want to help!"

I told her we could bake later that night, and I was swept up in the day with everything on my plate I'd almost forgotten. But Mayda didn't. After supper she helped me clean up, and she reminded me that we needed to bake bread.  We even tried a new bread recipe, but also made the loaves the woman liked so well. And as we packed up to go to town, she got more excited.

When we knocked on her door, the woman's grandson answered. I apologized for not calling ahead, and he welcomed us in. Mayda was suddenly shy. It turned out the woman had just brought her husband home from the nursing home with the care of hospice. There he was... sleeping soundly in the living room, struggling with the pain of the un-healing hip.

Mayda and I went on through to the kitchen where the woman was sitting, and she was completely taken by surprise. I told her how Mayda had wanted to bake her bread. She turned to her grandson and then back to me, and gesturing to the crust of bread on the counter, said:

"I just told him this morning that I was going to need to order more bread!"

We exclaimed together that God had heard, and placed an order with Mayda, who was beaming now (but hiding behind me out of shyness). She wanted to pay her, but Mayda told her it was a gift. I couldn't have been more proud of my girl.

And in my heart I was humbled. How many times have I had the thought to minister to someone: to drop someone a note, or to give a quick call? Did I do it?

In a recent conversation with a friend, we were talking about how we live in such blessing while the world outside our door is struggling so. How can we snuggle in our warm homes, when there are tin huts with dirt floors? And as I hung up with her I struggled in my heart, "Am I doing all I am called to do?" And I came to this conclusion... before I discovered this post by Ann V. about Radical Christianity; where she says the words that are the very thoughts I've been chewing on in my mind for two weeks:

"Because only a life contemplating the love of Christ becomes a life acting the love of Christ.
Because all radical Christianity is first rooted in relationship Christianity — with Christ and His children. Right where we are.
And love always moves. Always rippling outward, onward, forever homeward.

There’s love in a loaf of bread." -Ann Voskamp

I am teaching my daughter to bake bread. I am making disciples right where God has called me. What can my two hands do that wouldn't be better with the help of the eight small hands I am teaching?

I have been given a mission field, and it is here. And I have so far to go, in teaching them... and I will begin with the lesson of listening. Listening to that still small voice that prompts us to love, and to be the love of Christ. In our home. In our community. In our world.

Even if that lesson came from a child, a good humbling, and a a few loaves of bread.

Acorn Squash

One of my favorite winter vegetables is acorn squash. I love that as long as you keep it from being scratched or frozen, it will keep for quite a while! Just last week we enjoyed the last of the acorn squash from our garden. I'd kept some until Christmas last year, but I truly was amazed at how good it was, even in January... months after I had picked it from my garden! Here is is in September.

Thanks to my friend Kristin, I had the perfect recipe to use it with. (Thank you Kristin, for sharing it with me!) Enjoy!

Acorn Squash Rings with Parmesan Cheese

• Preheat your oven to 350.
• Slice a medium sized acorn squash into rings, 3/4 inch or so, and arrange in oiled baking dish or cookie sheet.
• Melt 2 tablespoons of butter and drizzle over the squash. You could use olive oil if you like.
• Sprinkle 1/4 cup (or more!) grated Parmesan cheese over the rings and salt and pepper to taste, and maybe a sprinkle of thyme.
• Bake for 45 minutes or until the squash is soft when it's poked and the Parmesan is crispy!

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I see the Moon, and I Consider

Psalm 8

photo by Emma, age 10

O Lord, our Lord, How excellent is Your name in all the earth, Who have set Your glory above the heavens!

Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants 
You have ordained strength, Because of Your enemies, 
That You may silence the enemy and the avenger.

When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, 
The moon and the stars, which You have ordained, 

What is man that You are mindful of him,
And the son of man that You visit him?

For You have made him a little lower than the angels, 
And You have crowned him with glory and honor.

You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands;
You have put all things under his feet,

All sheep and oxen—
Even the beasts of the field,

The birds of the air,
And the fish of the sea
That pass through the paths of the seas.

O Lord, our Lord,
How excellent is Your name in all the earth!

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Friday Thoughts and Some Freebies

As I've delved in to the world of curriculum reviews for the Review Crew, I've learned so much about blogging. These gals have taught me how to fix up my blog, create fun button codes, and use new programs like hootsuite and networked blogs. I'm VERY excited as we are reviewing new products and will be publishing my first major reviews in the next few weeks.

I've also been stretched to blog more frequently, and to connect with other bloggers. I've noticed that I'm getting more adventurous with my writing, and in fact, I've put in for a few guest posts. (One goes live Valentine's Day, so be watching!) I'm super excited to write more, and I hope it will benefit my family as much as it did when I blogged more often in the past... helping chronicle our life, and to connect with others. I'll never forget the year when all I did was pretty much print up my blog and put it in a scrapbook! That year's family album had the most meaningful journaling of any year I had done.

But I want my friends here to keep me accountable. I don't want to just write to fill up space. I want to write to fill up hearts, to chronicle blessings, to heal hurts, and most importantly: to glorify God. I want these words to have meaning. They don't have to be amazing blog posts, but I want to write things that matter. Reviews of products people actually use, stories about lessons our family is learning, Scripture that speaks to my heart, photos that are moments of amazing beauty, and food that fills your stomach and warms your heart. Remind me of that, should I ever forget. In my surfing to connect with other bloggers, I've come across more than one burnt out blog. I never want to end this with  "I have nothing more to write." If this blog ever comes to an end, I want my lingering post to be "moved to a real, paper journal." :) But for now, I'm happy to share.

In the mean time, and on a lighter note, I'm discovering that homeschool curriculum isn't the only thing my friends are trying out and reviewing. From books to toys, to everything in between, mom bloggers are sharing their thoughts on all these things, and often give away the item when they're done.  Just in case you haven't discovered it yet, I wanted to draw your attention to a fun place to find great freebies and giveaways. Just click the button below and like the page!