The Homeschool Mother's Journal - 15

In my life this week...

Spring Break!!  And boy did the week fly by! I can't believe it's almost over!  Say it ain't so!!  We also celebrated our 14th anniversary and our first born child officially turned into a teenager!!!!!

In our homeschool this week...

I spent some timing planning and preparing for the upcoming weeks for school and for the homemaker's challenge beginning Monday.

Places we're going and people we're seeing...

Next week we will be participating in trike-a-thon to raise money for St. Jude's hospital at our church.  Although it is a trike-a-thon all ages are coming out with trikes, bikes, wagons, wheelchairs - if it has wheels it will probably be there!

My favorite thing this week was...

Celebrating Jonathan's 13th birthday and seeing that he still loves the little things like party hats and birthday boy ribbons :).  I also enjoyed helping him set up his facebook and email accounts.  

What's working/not working for us...

Everything is going well!

Homeschool questions/thoughts I have...

All five of our caterpillars made it into beautiful butterflies.  This week, we will set them free!

A photo, video, link, or quote to share...

Happy 13th Jonathan!  We love you!!

I'm joining up with the Homemaker's Challenge again for the month of may.  I also have two 31 Days To Clean e-books to give away!  I would love to have you join us!  Leave me a comment here for your chance to win!

Stop by The Homeschool Chick for more Homeschool Mothers' Journals.

31 Days To Clean E-book Giveaway!

I am getting excited to join up with the Homemakers Challenge with Christin!  Monday morning is the start date.  I purchased my book so that I would be ready when the time came.  Wouldn't you know that very same day - only moments later even Sarah Mae (the author of the e-book) decided to have a giveaway!  Is that just my life or does this happen to everyone?  


Well, it turns out to be good news for you guys.  She has graciously allowed me to give away not 1 but 2 copies of 31 Days To Clean to my readers!  Just leave me a comment and an email to get in touch with you to enter for your very own copy!


I will pick 2 winners Sunday night!  That will give you plenty of time to join the challenge if you like!   Now, go and comment!  And don't forget to leave me a way to get in touch with you!

TOS Review: Latin's Not So Tough Level 2

update:  After using this curriculum and some of the other levels, I have to say that we would not recommend this for our family.  Many families love the style but I felt that we just did not learn what I was hoping to with this curriculum.  It was too confusing for my children to catch on without any written instruction.  It is a flashcard curriculum but we found that it does not teach the foundation concepts that we needed. 

Today's review product is Latin's Not So Tough - Level 2 recommended for 6-7 year old from Greek 'N' Stuff.  Greek 'N' Stuff offers Latin and Greek curricula along with some bible studies written by Karen Mohs, the founder.

In our household, Sarah used this exclusively since the beginning of the school year.  She is 7 and in the 2nd grade.  We had the opportunity to review the student workbook, the answers only answer key, and the pronunciation CD for levels 1-3.  The workbook basically consists of worksheets for the student. Level 2 focuses on a review of the Latin alphabet, diphthongs, special consonant sounds, and core vocabulary of 50 Latin words.  The workbook is simple and in black and white.  Repetition with the flashcards is the key to success in this program.  

Overall, the curriculum is very simple and easy to follow.  Our only problem was Sarah is still perfecting the alphabet sounds of the English language.  So, the alphabet sounds were frustrating her.  The CD really helped us in getting the pronunciations correct.  As someone with no former Latin experience, I wouldn't dare try to teach it without it!  Don't believe me.   Try this......

This is how to pronounce the Latin "Yy" sound.  The instructions say, "form lips to say "oo", but say "ee" instead.  Yeah, sure.  I get the image of mule lips - do you?

Latin's Not So Tough comes in six different levels with grammar instruction beginning in Level 3.  Levels 1 and 2 are simply for younger students just beginning.  If you have an older child who is just beginning Latin instruction, the recommendation is to start at Level 3.

Below is a breakdown of the different costs.

 Student Workbook - $18.95

Sample Pages of Each Level

  

Answers Only Answer Key - $4.00

Full Text Answer Key - $18.95

Quizzes and Exams - $5.50

Flashcards on a ring - $8.00.  Flashcards are also available in the back of your workbook but this would be worth the price to me not to have to worry with doing them myself!

Pronunciation CD for levels 1-3 - $10.00

Also available are "short sets" for each level that include the student workbook, answers only answer key, quizzes/exams, and flashcards on a ring for $36.45.

Or you may like the "full set" which includes all the items above - just replacing the answer only key to the full text answer key for $51.40.

For more purchasing options on buying all the levels at one time check out these deals.  

Would our family purchase this curriculum?  Yes!  The price is really not bad at all for a language curriculum.  We will be adding level 3 and 4 to our homeschool library shelf soon.

Don't forget to check out what my fellow crewmates thought of this and other products from Greek 'N' Stuff.  


**Disclaimer:  I received a free copy of Level 2 in exchange for my review.  The opinions here are my honest and true evaluation!

About Us

We are a homeschooling family of 3. This is our 2nd year. I have the best 3 kids in the world! They are each so unique. We have really been enjoying spending more time together everyday. Our reason for homeschooling was so that we could spend more time together as a family in the Word of God. Life is good! God is good!

Jonathan is in 7th grade

Stephen is in 4th grade.

Sarah is in 2nd grade.

ABOUT ME

Melissa

I am a 38 year old wife to the love of my life and mom to 3 children. I am truly blessed to have been given such a wonderful family. I am a Christian and know that I would have never known Jesus had it not been by His grace. I enjoy all sorts of crafts and reading when I have the time! In the picture is a vacation photo of my 3 children enjoying a sunrise at the beach!

A New Series - Homemaking for Girls

There is a new series starting in May called Homemaking for Girls. Do you need ideas and inspiration for teaching your daughters homemaking skills? In May, a 30 Day Series will begin to help with just that!  The series is sponsored by the Simple Meal Planning Website – Plan to Eat!  and there will be a giveaway from them during the series, too! An awesome team of writers will posting helpful articles including how to posts on sewing and cooking, encouragement, printables, resources, and more!


I'm looking forward to it!  You can click the button above for more information.

Homemaker's Challenge - 31 Days To Clean

Okay, I'm doing it.  I've prayed over whether or not to join and decided to give it a go.  I was very turned off at first with having to pay for the book in order to join.  I'm still not sure why because the book is only $4.99 and if I can follow through and get the accountability I need it will be worth every penny.  I am facing the fact that accountability works for me - in ALL areas!


It's not to late for you to join too!  First, you have to purchase the book.  Then follow the guidelines below and sign up for the challenge at Joyful Mothering.  

Here’s how the challenge will work:

1. Read the chapters each day that week. Highlight, take notes, do what you have to do to engage the material. Don’t just read it. Really allow it to change you. Journal, pray, look up scriptures. 
2. Write a post (or more, if you like) sharing your most challenging chapter for that week and give us a personal glimpse as to why you struggle in this area. Don’t worry! We all have an area of struggle, so we will all be sharing! Share what you need that could help you in that area. I will be posting a struggle, but also some extra solutions to accompany what Sarah Mae has offered. If you feel compelled, why not also share something that comes easily for you? Perhaps you could offer tips to others who may be struggling? 
3. Use the button in your post so that others can find their way back in case they would like to join us. The more the merrier! I have changed the code so it brings you to the list of “31 Days to Clean” posts. You can find the button in my sidebar. 
4. Link up your post(s) on Friday, beginning May 6th . It doesn’t matter what day you choose to write your post, you can still link it up on Friday.

The Homeschool Mother's Journal - 14

In my life this week...

The past weekend, Sarah and I, went to Mother/Daughter Camp and had a great time with a pretty scary adventure as we headed home.  On our way home we were surrounded by tornadoes everywhere.  Eastern NC had 87 tornadoes touch down all around us.  We made it home safely obviously and we were so blessed not to have any damage.  But others in our area have suffered major losses and our hearts and prayers go out to them.

In our homeschool this week...

Stephen is enjoying "The Secret Garden".

Sarah is really starting to love playing the piano.

Jonathan loves Time4Learning but we can't continue it.  We are on the last days :(.  

Places we're going and people we're seeing...

Next week we will be celebrating an anniversary and a birthday!  No special trips planned.

My favorite thing this week was...

Our field trip to the local theatre.  It was very interesting to see how things have changed from 35mm to digital set up.  We topped it off by watching Rio.

What's working/not working for us...

Smooth sailing right now although I'm nervous about our upcoming schedule!  May is looking crazy!!!!!!!!!

Homeschool questions/thoughts I have...

I love homeschooling!!!!!!!

A photo, video, link, or quote to share...

Sunflowers growing

Chrysalis forming

Stop by The Homeschool Chick for more Homeschool Mothers' Journals.

TOS Review: Growing Healthy Homes

One of my favorite things about being a reviewer on the crew is being blessed with the knowledge of new products.  I have never heard of the Nutrition 101: Choose Life book before and was excited to see what it was about!

At first glance, my eyes were loving the colorful pages.  As I examined the book further, I could not believe the wealth of information in this book. Our family was just about to embark on a healthier lifestyle with baby steps and this was just the book to get us started!  It has 448 pages broken down into 6 units covering the 12 main body systems. 

The units are.......

1. The Brain and Nervous System
2. Digestion and Elimination
3. Respiration and Olfactory
4. Muscular and Skeletal Systems
5. Cardiovascular and Immune Systems
6. Endocrine System and Emotions.

Each unit includes 4 chapters, additional recipes, activity guide, and appendix.  Each chapter per unit includes discussion questions, recipes, additional resources, and activities.

This is a complete health and nutrition unit study for all ages.  There are so many ways that you could use this book.  It would be wonderful to do with a group in a co-op setting, absolutely wonderful for a homeschool classroom setting, or even as a family!  Chapters are structured to be completed in a week but as we homeschoolers know - that is a guideline, not a must!  If you do complete a chapter a week, you would complete all 6 units in a year.  For us, we started out with a chapter a week but felt too rushed so we slowed down to a chapter every 2 weeks.  

We are just beginning to really dig into the wealth of information included in this book but so far it is a resource that we love.  As you go through your study, you will take an in depth look at how we eat, what we eat, how the body works, and how these food affect the body. 

If you purchase the CD-ROM version, I would highly recommend you print it out.  I find that it is so much easier for me to work with if I have a printed copy in front of me.  I printed out a unit at time to begin with.  That is just my personal preference though.

You can purchase Nutrition 101:Choose Life here in CD-ROM for $79.95, in hardback book form for $99.95, or in a combo of both for $129.95.  Personally, I would choose the combo option if I could afford the extra money because it is worth it to be able to have the book in front of you and then also have the option of printing additional pages when you want to.

You can see a beautiful 27 page excerpt to help you decide.  Also, just by reading my review, you will be able to get a 15% off discount by using code TOScrew11.

Would our family purchase Nutrition 101:Choose Life?  At first look, the price seems to be costly.  Can you put a price on choosing life even?  Also, I can use the study with all three of my children and really this is one of those bookshelf resources that you refer back to time and time again after you've completed the study so our answer is YES! 

Growing Healthy Homes also has other products available here that you may want to check out also.

Don't forget to check out what my fellow crewmates thought of Nutrition 101:Choose Life.  Last year's crew voted Nutrition 101:Choose Life as the best e-product of the year!


**Disclaimer:  I received a free digital download of the book in exchange for my review.  The opinions here are my honest and true evaluation!

The Homeschool Mother's Journal - 13

In my life this week...

Temperatures in the 70's - again! This was my opening remark last week.  A lot of times in the south we skip spring weather so we are loving it!

In our homeschool this week...

With God's help, we are growing things :)  Corn, sunflowers, and butterflies

Places we're going and people we're seeing...

Sarah and I are preparing right now to leave for mother/daughter camp!  The forecast unfortunately is calling for rain!

My favorite thing this week was...

Even though my quiet time first thing challenge was over, I kept it up this week and it has been so awesome!! 

What's working/not working for us...

We are wrapping up a few things right now.  May is turning out to be a busy month already for us so it's a good thing we are!

Homeschool questions/thoughts I have...

Where is your favorite online resource for purchasing used curriculum?

A photo, video, link, or quote to share...

Isn't it gorgeous?  :)


Stop by The Homeschool Chick for more Homeschool Mothers' Journals.

For Sale

All books used in our homeschool and in good condition.  All items include shipping media mail - US only.  Prefer to be paid by paypal.  Thanks for looking!


1.  Abeka Readers ($50ppd - want to keep set together)

• Handbook for Reading
• Story Tree
• Treasure Chest
• Hidden Treasure
• No Longer A Nobody
• Paths of Gold
• Sunshine Meadows
• Silver Sails
• Growing Up Where Jesus Lived
• Primary Bible Reader
• All Kinds of Animals
• Older Extra Book - All Things - Even Frisky

2. Learning Grammar Through Writing - $6ppd

3. Positive Action for Christ - Growing with God TM and Chorus CD - $25ppd

• Teacher Manual has a few coffee stains and is in a binder. You know a mom must have her coffee :).   Hymn and Chorus Cd case has a crack but Cd works fine.  

4. The Greenleaf Guide to Famous Men of the Middle Ages and Textbook (pb) - $15ppd

• 1997 edition

5. Painless Grammar - $7ppd

6. Writing With Ease - Strong Fundamentals - Hardback Book - 
$15ppd

The Homeschool Mother's Journal - 12

In my life this week...

Temperatures in the 70's!  Oh what gorgeous days we are having!!  We have enjoyed the outdoors this week and took a little break from book work.

In our homeschool this week...

We finished our last week of Classical Conversations (CC).  We took a field trip to Bentonville Battleground and we enjoyed the great outdoors!

Places we're going and people we're seeing...

This week we will have our end of year CC party.  We also have a skating party and a field trip scheduled to the Renaissance Fair.

My favorite thing this week was...

The gorgeous weather!!!  And enjoying quiet time first thing with my Lord!

What's working/not working for us...

Everything is going smooth right now!

Homeschool questions/thoughts I have...

Do you school year round?  Please share your schedule with me! 

A photo, video, link, or quote to share...


We have worms - or larval at least!  I've always wanted to do this!  Painted Lady Butterflies will hopefully be coming up soon!

Homemaker's Challenge - Schedule Rebellion

This weeks challenge:

Choose one item from your schedule to implement.

The item I chose from our schedule was for me to have my quiet time FIRST thing in the morning.  I manage to get in my quiet time everyday but I really want it to be the first thing I do.  I want to start my day with my God and have Him fill me with His Spirit to tackle the day that lies ahead.  In order to accomplish this goal, I must/had to get up earlier than I have been.  My habit lately has been sleeping in and then rushing to get school started instead of having my nice relaxing morning.  


So, here's how the week went for me.


Day 1 - Monday - A very hard day to do this.  My husband is off on Monday's and Sunday's are FULL around here so it's hard to get up and get going.  I did not not meet my goal this day.


Day 2 - Tuesday - This is our Classical Conversations day and the day after Zumba.  So, dragging out of bed is even harder than on Monday.  Do you see a pattern of excuses here?  I do!!  But, I did it and felt so refreshed and ready to go even if my legs and hips were not wanting to cooperate with those feelings!


Day 3 - Wednesday - No excuses!  Up and quiet time done!  Hooray!


Day 4&5 - Thursday & Friday - Again, up and quiet time done!


Honestly, the accountability factor helped me immensely.  I'm finding that in all areas of my life.  I need accountability so thank you Christin for the challenge!  


Go see how others tamed their schedule rebellion this week or did they............

New Website Launch - Win Free Curriculum!

There is a new homeschool website getting ready to launch that will be centered around giving homeschool curriculum away for FREE. The grand opening giveaways have some great products like a complete Mystery of History set, Horizons Pre-Algebra Set, Picture Smart Bible, and a whole set of early learning currriculum for 2yrs - K. There are also several other things set to be given away such as gift certificates.


To get notified of the giveaways, all you have to do is sign up for the "Giveaway Blast". Please be sure to put in my email address: smjlangley@gmail.com. There is a pre-launch giveaway right now for a beautiful Well Planned Day Planner that I can win for referring the most subscribers. You can enter too after you sign up! Just copy and paste this and send it out to your friends!

Here is the website: www.homeschoolgiveaways.com

This is my all time favorite planner!!  I already have one ordered   so I'd be glad to do a giveaway for it if I win!