Summer Update

I've almost finished my plans for the upcoming school year – I'm just working on the final few things (art, composers, music, drawing, poetry, etc.). Everything else is planned and ready to go. Right now I'm trying to reorganize things in our dining area and getting my teacher's notebook ready (more about that in another post). TJ is looking forward to school but I'm glad that we are taking the month of August for our 'staycation'. Nick is taking long weekends all month so we'll be doing touristy things in our area.

Don't look for many blog posts next month – I'm taking a summer break. I have lots in the works for the fall so don't go far!

Crew Review: Travel the World

One of my favorite products from The Old Schoolhouse Store is the Schoolhouse Planner. I’m a checklist kinda gal and there are plenty of those in ‘The Planner’ to make me happy! As if the planner wasn’t enough, the great people at The Old Schoolhouse also designed monthly modules as a supplement. Each module is centered around a specific theme with lots of great stuff to enhance that theme. Members of the crew received the June 2010 Module titled ‘Travel the World!’.

What’s Included: This 56 page e-book is full of great stuff! The first section is 9 pages of information about geography (maps, geographical terms, continents, and oceans). The best part about this section is all the clickable links that take you to many internet sites with lots of great information and fun games. The next section has over 20 pages of worksheets and puzzles (fill-in-the-blank, word search, crossword), lapbook pieces, coloring pages, and copywork exercises. The High school expansion section includes more geographical information and activities for older students. The last few pages have a few recipes and lists of resources for more learning. There's a lot of stuff packed in this book!

What we Thought: I found quite a few neat things to use as a mini-refresher for TJ. Last year we did a year-long geography study and this was the perfect opportunity to review some of the things TJ learned about. She really enjoyed coloring the continent coloring pages and I'm bookmarking some of the game links for later on. I plan to use them when we do a more in-depth study of the continents.

At $7.95 the Travel the World module can be an affordable jumping off point for a geography study – just add some library books and some activities and you've got a full unit. Interested in learning more? You can see sample pages here (pdf) or check out the Crew blog to read how other homeschooling families used this e-book.

Disclaimer: I was given this product free of charge for review purposes. I received no other compensation for my review. All views expressed are my opinions only.

Learning about Plants

TJ and I had lots of fun learning about the parts of a plant – we planted beans, looked at roots and stems, and had a leaf hunt, among other fun projects. And, just in case anyone else is looking for ideas for a plant study, here are the lessons:

Plant Lesson Plans

The Word of Promise: New Testament

The Word of Promise: New Testament is a dramatized version of the complete New Testament with more than 20 hours of audio. Using the New King James version of the Bible, over 120 actors provide voices for the numerous characters of the New Testament. This 20 CD set comes in a padded case with a bonus DVD. The DVD includes behind the scenes clips of the making of this audio set. Here are just a few of the people who provided their voices for this production: Michael W. Smith, Jim Caviezel, Michael York, Louis Gossett, Jr., Kimberly Williams-Paisley, and Richard Dreyfuss.

I enjoy listening to the Bible on audio. We actually have a few versions around the house. While this version isn't my favorite audio Bible, I enjoyed listening to it. The actors do a very nice job of bringing the characters to life. But there was one voice that got on my nerves – the actor doing Jesus' voice (Jim Caviezel). He just sounds … wimpy. I believe that Jesus spoke with authority and Caviezel speaks like he's not sure of what he's saying. It's not exactly like I imagined Jesus to sound. But the other actors make up for this and I did enjoy listening. You can listen to samples here. Overall it's a nice audio version of the Bible.

Disclaimer: I was given this product free of charge from Thomas Nelson Publishers . I received no other compensation for my review. All views expressed are my opinions only.

Another List of Books for Beginning Readers

I've shared a few lists of books for beginning readers and thought I'd keep adding to the list. TJ hasn't quite made the leap to full chapter books yet; she still prefers books with lots of pictures and larger text. The "I Can Read!" series has been perfect for this stage of reading. The books are longer and some of them are divided into smaller 'chapters' but they still contain large print and many colorful pictures.

"I Can Read" Books, Level 1

• A Kiss for Little Bear
• A Picture for Harold’s Room
• And I mean it, Stanley
• Baa-Choo!
• Barkley
• Barney’s Horse
• Captain Cat
• Chester
• Crocodile and Hen
• Danny and the Dinosaur
• Danny and the Dinosaur go to Camp
• Drip, Drop
• Father Bear comes Home
• Grizzwold
• Happy Birthday, Danny and the Dinosaur
• Harry and the Lady Next Door
• Joe and Betsy the Dinosaur
• Johnny Lion’s Book
• Julius
• Little Bear
• Little Bear’s Friend
• Little Bear’s Visit
• Morris and Boris at the Circus
• Morris goes to School
• Morris the Moose
• Mrs. Brice’s Mice
• No more Monsters for Me!
• Oliver
• Oscar Otter
• Ruby Paints a Picture
• Ruby’s Perfect Day
• Sammy the Seal
• Silly Tilly and the Easter Bunny
• Silly Tilly’s Valentine
• Stanley
• The Berenstain Bears and the Baby Chipmunk
• The Berenstain Bears and the Wishing Star
• The Berenstain Bears Clean House
• The Berenstain Bears Down on the Farm
• The Berenstain Bears’ New Kitten
• The Berenstain Bears’ New Pup
• The Fire Cat
• The Horse in Harry’s Room
• The Littlest Leaguer

"I Can Read" Books, Level 2

• A Bargain for Frances
• Addie’s Bad Day
• Amazing Dolphins!
• Amelia Bedelia
• Amelia Bedelia and the Baby
• Amelia Bedelia and the Surprise Shower
• Amelia Bedelia Helps Out
• Arthur’s Birthday Party
• Arthur’s Camp-Out
• Arthur’s Christmas Cookies
• Arthur’s Funny Money
• Arthur’s Honey Bear
• Arthur’s Loose Tooth
• Bread and Jam for Frances
• Custard Surprise
• Days with Frog and Toad
• Frog and Toad all Year
• Frog and Toad are Friends
• Frog and Toad Together
• Good Work, Amelia Bedelia
• Goose and Duck
• Grandmas at Bat
• Mildred and Sam
• Mouse Soup
• Mouse Tales
• Owl at Home
• Scruffy
• The Case of the Cat’s Meow
• The Case of the Double Cross
• The Case of the Hungry Stranger
• Who’s a Pest?

Science: Plant Logbook

TJ and I have just about finished up our 6-week study on plants. I'm cleaning up the lessons plans a bit and moving a few things around and then I'll be sharing them here. For now, here's the little logbook I made for TJ to track her plant's progress.

My Plant Logbook