October 1, 2019 · 10:45 am

Life Schooling

What is “Life Schooling” you ask? Well, it is working “school” around life, instead of the other way around. It is using life as a series of learning opportunities. And, in our case, it is taking time to minister to others, even if doing so happens during conventional school hours.

Today, all 3 boys are at a fellow church member’s home, helping to clear some land so they can put up a large dog pen, and then helping put it together.

Sometimes, it’s helping set up for a big occasion at church, and sometimes, it’s going out on a weekday with the Youth Pastor to visit others.

Sometimes, it’s doing odd jobs for pay, and learning to tithe off their income.

It has been going with me to help carry a meal from the car to someone I’ve cooked for, or just out to help me at the grocery store!

School doesn’t have to be just sitting at a table doing bookwork and paperwork. In fact, that is the smallest part of school for us! We learned a long time ago that while “school in a box” works for many people and their kids thrive on it, our kids do not, so we gradually changed to what works in our family.

If you’ve thought about homeschooling and been afraid you couldn’t, just know there are many ways to homeschool. The only “wrong way” to do it is the way that doesn’t work for YOUR kids and YOUR family. And, there’s nothing wrong with learning alongside your kids, either, I often find myself learning things I was never taught before!

As always, I would just love it if you would join me in all of “My Journeys Through Life.” Just go to the subscription box at the top of the blog and enter your email information. After that, you will always know when there is something new happening. I hope to see you here very soon! -)

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September 17, 2019 · 5:30 pm

Online Times Alive From City Creek Press, Inc {Review}

Memorizing multiplication facts can be boring. In fact, I never learned them. Yes. Yes I did just admit that! To be fair though, Nobody ever taught the multiplication tables in any class I was in. But, with the Online Times Alive subscription from City Creek Press, Inc. YOUR students (and you!) can learn math facts by watching videos and practicing math facts.

For many people, learning facts (of any sort) is easier using rhymes or songs. Based on the best selling book Times Tables The Fun Way Book for Kids, Online Times Alive uses both of these, along with short stories to teach the multiplication tables. Mnemonics have always been a great help to me ( “In 14 hundred and 92, Columbus sailed the ocean blue” ring a bell? )

Here is a quick little video to give you an idea of the fun way students are brought to a knowledge of multiplication facts:

I decided to have “The Artist” be the student on this one. Both “The Batman” and “The Puzzler” are very delayed in math skills, and are still trying to learn basic addition and subtractions. With their developmental delays, this may take a long time, or may never happen, but we do keep trying. “The Artist,” however, has had some work in Pre-Algebra, but definitely needs to learn multiplication facts. He (and I) know how to multiply, but memorizing the multiplication table certainly helps to get to the answer quickly.

The thing I like the best about Online Times Alive is that “The Artist” was able to be totally independent! Once logged in for the first time, the program gave him a pre-test, after which the program gave him a set of lessons in a table.

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At this point, “The Artist” simply clicks on the lessons in the order given, and away he goes! The filled in circles indicate completed  lessons, while the white, unfilled circles indicate that those lessons have not yet been started. If a circle is half filled in, it is a lesson which was begin, but not yet completed.

This is the beginning of the lesson for 8×8.  I just asked, and “The Artist” says that he remembers this fact (8×8=64) because the snowmen look like 8’s and the fire at the end has flames which look like 64. There is also a sign by the fire which says sticks (6) are for (4) the fire.

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The program keeps his records, but it is important for you to be aware that the student must use only the device he or she initially logged into, and remember what neme exactly they used to log into. The records and progress are kept on the one device, so this is important. I do wish that they were kept online, because at some point after beginning the review period “The Artist” received a Chromebook specifically for school use and switching him over meant he had to start all over.

Speaking of records, as you can see in the above picture, there is a red bar at the middle bottom of the screen. Clicking on that got me this:

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The picture below is what “The Artist” sees after watching the video in any given lesson. He tells me that this excercise is to see if he remembers what the lesson taught.

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He says that periodically the program gives a comprehension quiz or a test. The Artist really has been enjoying this! He also has some developmental delays, thoughv he’s not quite as delayed as his brothers, and this has been a great fit for him! Check out Online Times Alive and see if it’s a good fit for you! The cost is $9.95 / month with an initial $6.95 sign-up fee, but my readers can use the code  lovetolearn to have the sign up fee waved.

Please click on the banner just below to read what 44 other reviewing families think of Online Times Alive!

Online Times Alive {City Creek Press, Inc. Reviews}Crew-Disclaimer

As always, I would just love it if you would join me in all of “My Journeys Through Life.” Just go to the subscription box at the top of the blog and enter your email information. After that, you will always know when there is something new happening. I hope to see you here very soon! -)

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September 13, 2019 · 3:44 pm

Yummy Freezer Meals!

Today, “The Artist” and I put together 11 meals for the freezer!

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“The Artist” is making the Baked Apricot Meatballs, while I make the sauce to put on them.

Here, we have the really good smelling topping to add into the Baked Cinnamon-Apple Pork Chops. I wish you could smell this, instead of just seeing it, because it just smells so yummy, and I’m sure it’s going to smell even better baking in the oven!

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This is all 10 of the meals from the recipes above, 2 of each, plus a package made using the extra pork chops and Vidalia Vinaigrette, so a total of 11 meals.

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And finally, 11 new supper main dishes in the freezer to add to whatever meals were left from the last time we did this!

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We have a membership with My Freeze Easy, and every few weeks I just go in and create my own menu plan, but you don’t have to. Each monty there are 12 new menus to choose from. Each recipe will make 2 meals for the freezer, and we chose to use 5 recipes this time. I also set my meal portions per meal at 8 so there will be leftovers, often enough for a second supper the next day! If you click the link earlier in this paragraph (affiliate) You’ll find the join page, and also a “try it free!” click at the top. We have been using and loving this for almost 3 years now, and my crew loves it! We get so much more variety now, and I never have to worry about having something already prepped to just thaw and bake, slow cook, Instant Pot, or skillet! Another reason I started doing this is that I’m part of the “Care Bear” ministry in our church (Mesa Baptist Church). I never have to say no anymore, because there are always good meals in my freezer, which enables me to do a meal for someone in need wil very little notice. I like that!

As always, I would just love it if you would join me in all of “My Journeys Through Life.” Just go to the subscription box at the top of the blog and enter your email information. After that, you will always know when there is something new happening. I hope to see you here very soon! -)

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September 5, 2019 · 12:53 pm

Our Lastest Freezer Session!

We’ve been freezer meal prepping again! We’ll be enjoying the bounty for the next couple of weeks!

 

As always, I would just love it if you would join me in all of “My Journeys Through Life.” Just go to the subscription box at the top of the blog and enter your email information. After that, you will always know when there is something new happening. I hope to see you here very soon! -)

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September 5, 2019 · 12:32 pm

Music Appreciation for the Middle Grades Book 2 From Zeezok Publishing {Review}

 

I grew up listening to music from classical to bluegrass and beyond, so I was very excited to receive this wonderful homeschool music program, Music Appreciation Book 2: for the Middle Grades from Zeezok Publishing for the purpose of this review!

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For a little while now,  “The Artist” has been learning all about Frederick Chopin, using the main Student Activity Book and biographies of the composer.

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It has been important to me that my children learn to appreciate music from diverse time periods, so this really fits the bill! By the time this course is finished, we will have learned about seven different composers:

  • Frederic Chopin
  • Robert Schumann
  • Richard Wagner
  • Stephen Foster
  • Johannes Brahms
  • Peter Tchaikovsky
  • Edward MacDowell

We will learn about them by using the big Student Activity Book and reading nine biographies. We received physical copies of eight, and we received one of them as an e-book. When you order this package, you will get them all as physical books. Of the books we received, seven are very nice soft cover in a couple of different sizes, and one is a nice, sturdy hard cover.

While this is not a problen for us, I know that there are people who like matching sets so I thought I ought to mention it.

If you follow the table in the workbook exactly this curriculum will take you twenty-nine weeks. Four weeks per composer, with the exception of Frederic Chopin which is a five week section. This could take as long or as short of a time as you wish, but following the schedule is worthwhile if you would like it to be completed within one school year.

This course is cross curricular, covering history, geography, music, social studies and more.

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At some point we will be coming back to this to try the delicious sounding recipe pictured here, but as my husband is on the hunt for a new job he wants to avoid poppy seeds for now. 😉

The components of this curriculum are listed below.

  • Student Activity Book:

This is designed for different kinds of learners (auditory, visual, kinesthetic, “active”) Activities will teach geography, history, instrument study, music vocabulary, timelines, character trait studies, musical facts, and more. This is a consumable book, so while multiple children within your family would be able to share the biographies you will need a separate Student Activity Book for each of them.

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  • Optional Journal Notebook:

While working through the Student Activity Book, the student will find directions for creating their own journaling notebook using a 3-ring binder, a regular notebook, or even a sketchbook, helping him or her to connect with the musicians and their musical creations through writing.

  • The Great Musician Series (nine biographies by Opal Wheeler and Sybil Deucher.
  • Music Appreciation for the Middle Grades App:

This is a new feature as of this curriculum. There are QR codes sprinkled throughout the Student Activity Book which give your student easy access to all of the songs in the biographies, interactive quizzes and additional website links.

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I have covered the website link to the App page because it’s reserved for consumers of this curriculum only.

There are optional components available for purchase:

I feel that this is an excellent tool for introducing my children to the appreciation of music! With this set we are not simply listening to music, we are learning about the places from which the composers came, how they lived their lives, along with much more from each time period. I very much recommend this set to you!

To read what fifty-nine other families think about Music Appreciation Book 2: for the Middle Grades from Zeezok Publishing, please click on the banner just below.


Music Appreciation Book 2: for the Middle Grades {Zeezok Publishing Reviews}Crew-Disclaimer

As always, I would just love it if youwould join me in all of “My Journeys Through Life.” Just go to the subscription box at the top of the blog and enter your email information. After that, you will always know when there is something new happening. I hope to see you here very soon! -)

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August 28, 2019 · 6:17 pm

Got My Nails Done!

As always, I would just love it if youwould join me in all of “My Journeys Through Life.” Just go to the subscription box at the top of the blog and enter your email information. After that, you will always know when there is something new happening. I hope to see you here very soon! -)

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August 8, 2019 · 5:40 pm

Memoria Press Sixth Grade Liturature Guide Set {Review}

If you prefer classical Christian education then you need to check out Memoria Press and their Sixth Grade Literature Guide Set  which includes the King Arthur Literature Guide.

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However, you don’t have to be using the Classical Education method to really appreciate this set. We are far, far from being Classical Education home schoolers, and we think these are just great! We have reviewed educational curricula from Memoria Press in the past, and you can see those reviews here.

Memoria Press very generously sent us the complete Sixth Grade Literature Guide Set for the purpose of this review, and this is what came out of the box when it arrived to us.

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When given the choice of which grade to review, I did not choose based upon anyone’s grade level. I had my son look at all of the choices, and he picked the one which had guides for specific books he wanted to read. He chose this level, and the guide we decided to begin with is King Arthur And His Knights Of The Round Table. Because I thought these guides were a valuable resource educationally, I purchased the matching book.

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After reading each chapter in the book,

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my son went directly to the Student Study Guide.

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I believe in the picture above he’s working on the vocabulary portion of the chapter he just read, as he has the dictionary open next to him.

For each chapter, the Student Study Guide has a quote at the top of the page on the left. That will be for later. First, he has a section called Reading Notes. My son said “they are kind of like reminders about people, things and places .”

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Next, he works on the small vocabulary list. Here is the  one I was able to get a picture of early on, which also shows part of the following section, the comprehension questions.

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The next section Discussion Questions, is where he would need the aforementioned quote. There are questions regarding who said the quotation and to whom, and then further questions regarding people and/or things which happened in a given chapter. I like to use this as a  starter for oral discussion in our family. Next, we have the section titled Enrichment. For example, in King Arthur And His Knights Of The Round Table, scattered among enrichment activities involving writing, there is an opportunity to play a game patterned on Percivale needing to distinguish between what was real and what was caused by an evil spirit. We’ve played a similar game in the past called Two Truths and a Lie.

Here, my son is checking out the family tree of King Arthur and his four bravest knights. Um . . . yes. A haircut will now be on the agenda, today or tomorrow. 😳

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The King Arthur Student Study Guide has 47 pages of student work pages followed by an appendix of 10 pages. After the 3 pages of definitions is the part I like the best, long pieces of poetry. Two by Alfred Lord Tennyson (The Lady of Shalott and a passage from Le Morte D’Arthur) and one by Howard Pyle (The Wooing of Sir Keith). The King Arthur And His Knights Of The Round Table Teacher Guide is 115 pages long, and gives you all of the answers for the Student Study Guide.

The other three books in this level are The Door In The Wall, The Adventures Of Robin Hood and Adam Of The Road. The Student Study Guides are all of a similar length with the exception of The Door In The Wall which has 19 student pages. All of the Student Study Guides and Teacher Guides are 8 1/2″ x 11″, bound with a sturdy, glossy cover. I think they will stand up to use.

As I wrote at the top of this review, These literature guides are great no matter what style of home schooling your family does! We are very relaxed, wing-it style home schoolers, using an extremely wide variety of materials. We are not school in a box kit people, we’re more free wheeling, and we love these!

With 65 reviewers in total, you will see a variety of opinions and grade levels. Please click below to see what the other 64 have to say!

First to Tenth Grade Literature Guides {Memoria Press Reviews}

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As always, I would just love it if youwould join me in all of “My Journeys Through Life.” Just go to the subscription box at the top of the blog and enter your email information. After that, you will always know when there is something new happening. I hope to see you here very soon! -)

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August 8, 2019 · 2:45 pm

MY Spot!

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As always, I would just love it if you would join me in all of “My Journeys Through Life.” Just go to the subscription box at the top of the blog and enter your email information. After that, you will always know when there is something new happening. I hope to see you here very soon! -)

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August 6, 2019 · 8:40 pm

Library and Educational Services LLC {Review}

One of my goals when we started homeschooling was to build a library of good books which would be of good enough physical quality that my family would have them for a very long time.  With Library and Educational Services LLC we are able to add beautiful Reinforced Hardcover Library Binding Nonfiction books, paperback books like the Who Was . . . series with titles like Who Was Anne Frank? and quality audio dramas on CD such as the one we received, Hiding In Plain Sight.
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For the purpose of this review, I was asked to choose One title from the Who Was … ? series, and I chose Who Was Anne Frank.

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I chose this book because although we have been learning about World War 2, up until now I have not really touched on the Holocaust in more than the most general of ways. Because of the special needs my boys deal with, I have thought it would be too tough of a subject for them. This book has allowed me to give them a gentler introduction, leading then into an expansion later on with more in depth materials. This book has 103 pages in it, which include a timeline of Anne’s life, a timeline of the world, and a 2 page bibliography. Later on when they are ready, I will have them Read Anne’s actual diary just as I did way back when I was a girl.

Next, we were asked to choose One CD from the Lifehouse Theater CDs series. I chose Hiding In Plain Sight, a 70 minute audio drama of the true story about William and Ellen Craft and their amazing and successful escape from slavery. Their escape from Macon GA to Boston MA where they lived for two years before fleeing again to foreign shores, is nothing short of astonishing! We listened to this in one sitting, not wanting to stop and wait between sections.

Additionally, we were allowed approximately $60.00 to choose any  Reinforced Hardcover Library Binding Nonfiction books.  I invited the boys to choose. “The Artist” and “The Batman” together chose the set of seven “Uncovering American History books.”

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“The Puzzler” chose a set of three “What You Didn’t Know About History” books.

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I barely got the books out of the box before they were being grabbed up!

Library and Educational Services LLC is a wonderful way to build your library with quality books! They are worthwhile books to read, and sturdily bound books that you would be proud to have on your bookshelves. There is an abundance of different resources on their website for you to choose from! Here are just a few examples!

And here is something I have LONG desired, and was able to purchase separately at an extremely good price from Library and Educational Services LLC, The American Dictionary of the English Language, Noah Webster 1828.

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I have wanted this so that our children would learn the meaning of the words as intended when they read, for example, our national documents such as the Constitution.

All in all, I am so happy to have been given the opportunity to really check out Library and Educational Services LLC! I have seen their mail order catalogs for years, but hesitated to order, as I had no idea what sort of quality their products would be. Well i’m here to tell you that not only is the quality wonderful, but so are the prices! I will most definitely be ordering from them again! I mean, the 7 book set and the 3 book set were only about $60.00 all together! To me, that is not just fair, it’s amazing!

Counting me, there are 80 crew members who have been reviewing Library and Educational Services LLC. Please, click below and check out what the other reviewers think!Wholesale Books for Your Homeschool {Library and Educational Services LLC Reviews}Crew-DisclaimerAs always, I would just love it if you would join me in all of “My Journeys Through Life.” Just go to the subscription box at the top of the blog and enter your email information. After that, you will always know when there is something new happening. I hope to see you here very soon! -)

 

 

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August 6, 2019 · 5:20 pm

Nails, Pretty Nails!

My favorite place for this Happy Nails in Albuquerque, hit the jackpot this time!

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Don’t they look like little galaxies?

As always, I would just love it if you would join me in all of “My Journeys Through Life.” Just go to the subscription box at the top of the blog and enter your email information. After that, you will always know when there is something new happening. I hope to see you here very soon! -)

 

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