Goalie Girl

In her next to last year of playing soccer, Kaytie decided to do something new! She is learning to play keeper. Her first game she gave up zero goals!!! Here's to a great season!

Homeschooling is Like...

 a day at the spa!!!

Homeschool Review Crew: Zeezok

My schooling style leans heavily in the direction of Charlotte Mason, which I am always looking for ways to include learning about things like artists, composers and good literature. I love to read, so the literature is easy but I am not naturally an artist nor a composer, so art and music are a little more difficult. When my kids were younger, we were asked to review an elementary music appreciation course from Zeezok Publishing that we thoroughly enjoyed. So I was delighted when they asked us to review their new product Music Appreciation Book 2: for the Middle Grades.

The course consists of nine readers and a Student Book. There are other things you can buy to add on, like a lapbook and a coloring book, but this is the basic package. I was sent a paper copy of the Student Book and physical copies of eight of the readers (the other one was sent by ebook because of a small mistake, if you buy the package you will receive all the books in physical form, or you can choose audio or ebook form). 

The readers are actually biographies of the composers studied in the program. They contain easy-to-read text and and black-and-white simply drawn illustrations as well as sheet music for some of the composer's songs. 

The Student Book is actually also the Teacher's Guide and contains all of the instructions you need to follow the program.

Another component of the program are the QR codes found throughout the book. There are instructions for downloading an app on your device to read the codes or you also can just type in a website in your browser and pull it up just as easily. This website contains all of the music you need to listen to during the course. It also has some videos that enhance the program. Let me just tell you that this was sooooo much nicer and easier to use than the CDs in the elementary program! It is all laid out so you can quickly find exactly what you need. 

This product is aimed at 5th to 8th graders, but my 10th and 11th graders enjoyed it just as much as my middle schoolers. I think it would be great for most high schoolers but especially if they had not previously been exposed to classical music and composer study.

There are seven composers included: Chopin; Schumann; Wagner; Foster; Brahms; Tchaikovsky; and McDowell.

So using Music Appreciation Book 2: for the Middle Grades is easy.  If you have the product and an internet connection, it is "open and go". The composers are color-coded so it is easy to find your place in the book. And each composer has a schedule or weekly outline right at the beginning of their section. Chopin takes five weeks and all the others take four (if you follow the schedule). The schedule tells you what parts to read in the reader each week and then what activities to do in the Student Book. 

You can have your children read the biographies on their own, or you can use them as a read-aloud (especially if you have multiple children) but the activities are meant to be done together, parent included. 

The activities are varied. There are quizzes and tests to take, like the one below. There are comprehension questions and short answer questions as well, but we prefer to do those orally.

There are character qualities tied into each composer, fun facts to read, mapping exercises to bring in geography learning, information about all types of unusual instruments, family trees, histories of what else was going on in the world during the composer's lifetime, musical terms to learn and explore, recipes to cook,  and of course, music to listen to!

Each day, or every other day, or however often you choose to learn some music appreciation, you just pick up the Student book and work your way through the activities. It really is as simple as that. We added it into our Morning Meeting (group work/morning basket/ circle time for teens/ whatever you want to call it)  and just do a little bit throughout the week. 

We highly recommend Music Appreciation Book 2: for the Middle Grades for your entire family!

Meet the 7th Grader

Abbie is in 7th grade!!! She is also earning a high school credit this year!

Abbie loves reading, playing with friends, animals, babies, Barbies, and making people laugh.

She wants to be a preschool teacher when she grows up.

Homeschool Review Crew: Britfield & The Lost Crown

I have probably said it before, but books are my favorite reviews to get to do. I have loved reading since before I can remember and all of my kids love stories as well! So book reviews are fun and very much enjoyed around here! Today we are sharing our review of Britfield & the Lost Crown.

This is the story of Tom. Well, more accurately, the story of Tom and his mysterious heritage. Oh, and also the story of Sarah, a dismal orphanage, a bored professor, a detective who never fails to solve his case (except for that one time, but no one is talking about that!), a fabulous hot air balloon and lost crown (but you probably guessed the last one from the title?),

Tom and Sarah are miserable, neglected orphans desperate for freedom and a happy life. Since they are also best friends, they hatch an escape plot together. The plot seems doomed to failure, but a desperate attempt from the rest of the orphans launches them toward London in a hot air balloon. They are armed with a desire to get to London, a lucky necklace and a mysterious word... Britfield.

They fall into and out of many adventures along the way, being shot at, nearly drowning, evading police, crazy butlers, and a man named Speckle. But together, with the help of a kind friend named Hainsworth, they triumph over every obstacle, evade every attempt on their lives, and manage to thoroughly enjoy (almost) the entire experience! All while learning a few character lessons and some history along the way.

Now, Britfield & the Lost Crown is the first in a series of five books, so don't expect everything to be all tied up neat and tidy at the end.

I intended on having all of my children read this book. It just so happened, however, that I managed to get to read it first (that rarely happens) and also that our end-of-summer slipped completely out of our control. So I read Britfield & the Lost Crown and quickly decided that it would be our next read aloud together! Yes, it is just that fun and shareable!

I was able to read through the entire book quickly in just a couple of sittings. It is written for middle schoolers, so for an adult it was an easy read. My middle school kids would no doubt take quite a few hours longer to get through it if they were reading on their own.

I heartily recommend this book, not just for middle schoolers but for the entire family. I am looking forward to reading it aloud, but it is appropriate enough that you could hand it off to just about any child to read on their own. Now, there are quite a few harrowing adventures and narrow escapes so a young or sensitive child might have trouble, but Tom and Sarah are unfailingly clever and self-reliant and cheerful, so it is still a hopeful book.

We were also given access to a Study Guide that goes along with the book. This is in PDF form and 83 pages long. It is written to last eight weeks and is divided up by chapters. Each section contains Vocabulary, Comprehension, and Going Deeper. Most sections also contain a Learn More with Technology.

The Vocabulary section is usually a list of words for the students to look up, with a space to record the definitions, but sometimes it has a crossword puzzle or a word search or a quiz instead.

The Comprehension section asks questions, such as, "How does Hainsworth distract the police who are looking for Tom and Sarah?" and "How does Tom get out of his room when the door is locked?"

Going Deeper asks for short essay answers to similar questions, or for activities like drawing a picture.

Learn More with Technology contains questions for your student to research online.

At the end of the Guide is a list of all the vocabulary words and answers for the questions.

To sum up, yes! I recommend this book! Go buy it for your middle schooler because you will likely enjoy it as well!

Meet the 8th Grader

This is Daniel. He is in 8th grade this year, but he is earning a couple of high school credits.

Daniel is a busy guy. He enjoys camping, shooting, fixing, playing ga-ga ball, Pokemon, video games, and anything that involves doing something.

He wants to be an architect or a builder when he grows up. 

Meet the Sophomore

Nate is in 10th grade, but is doing mostly 11th grade work. But neither he nor his guidance counselor have any wish for him to graduate early. 

Nate enjoys reading, fishing, hiking, gaming, cooking and baking. He plays soccer, perfects his sarcasm and attends Scouts in his spare time. 

He wants to be either a baker, a college professor, or an actor when he grows up. He obviously likes to keep his options open!

Meet the Junior

Kaytie was the first student in our school. She will be in 11th grade this year. She is so close to finishing up!!!

Kaytie enjoys writing stories, drawing, painting, and reading. She loves chocolate, succulents and all things yellow. She is amazingly creative, witty, and thoughtful. She is dipping her toes into teaching, working hard on producing a book, and learning how to drive.

She wants to be a counselor when she grows up but for now she is just doing a really good job of being a teenage girl.

Color War!

This is the "before" pic...

And then... the aftermath!

But then... Kayaks

Ever since I went kayaking on Mom's Retreat, I have talked to the family about how much fun it was and how we just need to get some kayaks.

But those things are expensive!

But... we came into a little extra money this summer and the Dad said, "We should get you a couple kayaks."

But those things are expensive! And after a lot of thought, we decided that we had more important things to spend that money on. So, reluctantly, we set aside the hope of kayaks and spent our money responsibly.

But then, on Facebook Marketplace, we saw these!!! At a really great price. 

But then there were a few people in line ahead of us who had already asked for them.

But then the lady called and said they were all no shows! Did we still want them?

YES!!!

So now, for fun, we kayak on playa lakes around our town.

Homeschool Review Crew: Project Passport Ancient Greece

I love history! My kids, however, do not, so I really love Home School in the Woods, because it makes history enjoyable enough that my cranky kids actually learn something! So I was excited to be asked to review Project Passport World History Studies: Ancient Greece.

I have used and reviewed products from Home School in the Woods before. I have even used Project Passport World History Studies, before, so I knew what to expect... an overload of information and fun projects suitable for all four of my kids to explore and enjoy!
Home School in the Woods offers many different products to enhance, supplement or completely supply your history curriculum. They offer timeline materials, maps, world history, American history, lapbooks, activity packs and even games, posters, projects, etc. that you can buy a la carte. They also have a blog that offers additional ideas and advice, like this post that shares how to incorporate food into your history studies. 
There are currently five Project Passport World History Studies: Ancient Egypt; Ancient Greece; Ancient Rome; Middle Ages; and Renaissance and Reformation. We have used all but the newest, Ancient Rome.  
Project Passport: Ancient Greece was sent to us in a PDF download, although you can choose to buy it on a CD instead, if you prefer. It is an enormous download, in a zip file, so the first thing you have to do is unzip or extract it. This gives you all the material in two different options. 
You can open all the files individually on your computer or you can just hit the Start button. This pulls the material up in your browser with instructions and everything in the order that you need it. This is the method I choose because I don't get confused. I just start at the beginning and make my through the program.

It starts with an Introduction, Resources, Bibliography and Travel Tips. If Project Passport is new to you, it is important to read these bits of information so you understand what you need to do.

The lessons are called Stops and there are 25 of them. 

You begin by reading the Guide Book Text. This gives you and your student the historical information. You can print these, but we generally save the ink and paper and just read them right off the screen. 

The Itinerary is next. This is your instructions on which projects (or parts of projects) you need to do and how to do them. Pictures and illustrations are included for those of us who are visual. 

After that comes the links to all the PDFs for the projects and activities. I like it because it is clickable links and everything is just right there, clearly laid out in the order that I need it. 
Each project/activity is clearly marked by type. There are projects for you to put into a scrapbook, projects for a lapbook, projects that are good for taking pictures of your student, edible projects (yummy!), games, 3-D projects, active projects, postcards, writing a newspaper, and some audio "tour guides" for you to listen to. Some of the projects fit more than one type, of course.  

The beauty of Project Passport is that you can pick and choose what you do and how you use it. You can do the Stops in order or mix it up. You can do an entire Stop in one sitting or go more slowly. I generally prefer to have several Stops printed and ready to go and then allow the kids to work at their own pace. When they get tired of working, we can stop and then pick up again later. 

My favorite projects are the maps and the timelines. But the ones that pop up or are 3D are fun, too! It's important to point out that we do not do all of the projects. There are so many to choose from! Scrapbook pages, postcards, newspapers, masks, family trees, constellation cards, how-to dress like a Greek, a model of the agora (marketplace) and so many more!

I enjoyed the maps, of course. Daniel rose to the challenge of putting an Icosahedron together. Kaytie is into constellations, so that was her favorite part. And Abbie enjoyed the coloring and the final projects. 

Project Passport World History Studies: Ancient Greece is an amazing way to introduce some fun into your history learning. 

We highly recommend any and all of Home School in the Woods's products. But don't just take our word for it, check out what other reviewers have to say by clicking on the banner below.

Scouts Summer Camp

The girls' troop also had summer camp. But since we only had three scouts going, it turned into more of a family affair.

Camping with teens is fun. They set up their own tents. They helped out with the cooking and cleaning. They took care of themselves, the younger kids, and even the adults on occasion. 

We took a nature hike.

We were burning our hands trying to roast our hotdogs...

but Daniel solved that problem!

We went on a long hike to a beautiful meadow with a spring!

It was a great trip, full of fun and memories that will last forever.