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changes in history curriculum for 2014…

January 20, 2014Written by Joy

We started the 2013-2014 school year trying out a new history curriculum. I was wanting to do American history with my kids and was having a hard time locating one I thought would work. The two previous years, we had used Mystery of History from Bright Ideas Press. Bright Ideas Press history, All American History, looked a little too challenging for my younger kids, so I choose My Father’s World: Adventures in U.S. History.

The first few weeks, we struggled and had a lot of tears. The kids did not like the change. It was TOUGH. They cried, then I cried. I was determined to give the new curriculum a chance, though. I know that sometimes change can be hard, but that if you give things a chance, it could work out. I told myself that we would give the new history until the end of the year. I wanted to make sure that we gave it our all, before we switched curriculums. The kids like the time period that we were studying. They just did not like how it was presented, they did not like that there wasn’t daily activities or projects. With this curriculum, there was a lot more copywork, than anything.

The end of 2013 came and I knew the time had come. We were going to change history curriculums. The problem was, which one do I choose now? I had wanted to teach the kids American history. I have just had a hard time trying to find one that I liked. I knew we needed to go back to something that we were familiar with. One of the joys of homeschooling, is using curriculum that fits the needs and learning style of your children.

So what will we do now? One thing we will do is continue to read the books that I picked up on American history. They are short readers that the kids can read on their own. We also have the Little House on the Prairie books that we will read together.

{Disclaimer: This post has affiliate links.}

My kids have asked to go back to Bright Ideas Press, Mystery of History. Since we finished with Mystery of History: Volume 1, last year, we will begin Mystery of History: Volume 2, this next week. I already had this Volume on our book shelf, so it will save us money for the time being. In the mean time, I will be saving to purchase their All American History Jr. I would love to be able to look at the books and see what all the Jr. section covers. Hopefully, we will be able to start this in the fall.

After 11 years of homeschooling, I am learning it is okay to change curriculums, even during the middle of the school year. One of the joys of homeschooling, is being able to meet the needs of your children if something isn’t working. So mom, don’t give up if you are having a rough time. If you feel like you have given the curriculum a fair chance, and it still isn’t working, then change! You will eventually find something that will work, or a curriculum that you can tweak enough to make it work for your family.

Have you ever had any curriculum that made your kids break down in tears? Have you had to change curriculums in the middle of a school year? I would love for you to share your experience with us!

2014, homeschooling Adventures in U.S. History, All American History Jr., American History, Bright Ideas Press, curriculum, history, homeschooling 2014, My Father's World, Mystery of History

our homeschool area for 2013-2014

August 11, 2013Written by Joy

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Disclaimer: There are some affiliate links in this post. The little money that I might make from you purchasing through the links, help our family in buying our curriculum.

Since I shared with you what curriculum we will be using for our younger children and our high school student, I also thought I would share our homeschool area. I am also joining in with the iHomeschool Network and the 5th Annual “Not” Back-to-School Blog Hop.

When we moved to Colorado, we ended up renting an apartment that was much smaller than what we were used to. We down-sized a lot and I also had to put a lot of books in storage. I only tried bringing in what we needed, but when you are homeschooling several children, things do start to accumulate and take up space. So I have tried using the space that we have and get a little creative with storage. While it would be nice to have a room just to house all of our books and homeschooling materials, I am making due with the space we have and it is working for our family. That is the most important thing to remember. Do what works with your family.

My younger kids and I use the dining room table to sit at and do our book work, projects, activities and crafts. I am usually sitting closest to the desk top, in case I need to help a child with work on it while I have another child sitting next to me on the other side. I usually have my laptop sitting in front of me for those times that the kids start asking questions and we go on a rabbit trail.

I found some neat posters to help remind the kids of Fractions, Place Value, the Branches of the U.S. Government and the Rights and Responsibilities of being a Citizen. I hung those on the wall next to our Van Gogh poster. I also have a white board leaning against the wall that I sit on the back of the chairs when we need to use it.

The younger kids and I sit at the dining room table. Sarah will join us on occasion, depending on what she is working on.

As you can see, above the desk, there is a shelf and I was able to put our globe, microscope (can’t see it in the picture) and all of our craft and school supplies. I bought those plastic boxes for a $1 each and was able to separate everything out. I printed up the names of the supplies and then taped them on the front of the container. The kids can easily get whatever they need. I still need a couple of more, to finish separating some crafts a little more. On the desk, I have the printer and two small 3-drawer containers that hold our pencils and pens. Next to the printer, we have an electric pencil sharpener.

craft/school supplies and the desktop the kids use for school.

I have two bookshelves against the bar area. On those two shelves, is where I store all of the kids books and notebooks that we will be using for the school year. I am still in the process of changing last years books out with the new books. On the bar, I have put “Big Tim”, our timer and this is where we also set our projects that we complete, to show daddy when he comes home from work.

These two bookshelves hold all of our school books, notebooks and readers.

I am still in the process of cleaning out the old papers and books from this past year and adding the new curriculum and readers for the upcoming year.

This big comfy chair is in the corner of the living room. It is where my oldest daughter sits to do a lot of her reading and school work. She will go to her room on occasion, when she needs to concentrate a little more.

Sarah’s chair where she does a lot of her school work.

At the end of the hallway, I have two small bookshelves that are stacked on top of each other. This is where we keep most of the extra books that the kids enjoy reading for fun. We also have a few games that are sitting on top, as well as big books that don’t fit on the regular shelf. The girls’ room and the boys’ room also have a book shelf and this is where they keep their favorite books at.

Hallway bookshelf holding extra books for reading.

I am happy with the area I have been able to create for us to do our schooling in. It works for my kids and I. We have made due with what we have and made the area work for what all we need it to. That is what I love the most about homeschooling, being able to do what works best for our family.

I am sure you will see many beautiful school rooms as you look through the internet world. Just remember, you don’t need an extra room. You can use what you have in your home and make it work for you and your family. All families are unique. That is the joy of homeschooling!

Do you have a separate room for your schooling? Do you use your dining room or living room? I would love for you to share your area with me!

2013 apartment, area, bookshelves, containers, crafts, curriculum, dining room, homeschooling, living room, school, small, supplies

our curriculum for the younger kids ~ 2013-2014

August 9, 2013Written by Joy

9 Comments

our curriculum for the younger kids ~ 2013-2014

Disclaimer: There are some affiliate links in this post. The little money that I might make from you purchasing through the links, help our family in buying our curriculum.
I always enjoy seeing what curriculum that everyone else is using, so I thought I would share with you our curriculum we will using this upcoming school year. I am also joining in with the iHomeschool Network and the 5th Annual “Not” Back-to-School Blog Hop.

My younger two kids are in 2nd and 3rd grade this year. It is amazing how quickly time is passing us by. I am enjoying being able to be at home with our kids, watching them grow and learn new things everyday. Since there is only 18 months difference between my younger children, I find it a lot easier on our family if we do a lot of the curriculum together. While they are on different levels in math, everything else, we do together.

{History and Geography}

For the first time in a couple of years, I am changing curriculum. While I am excited about this change, I am also nervous. I don’t think I have changed so much in one year since we started homeschooling 11 years ago! The first big change for us is our history. As much as I love Mystery of History and Bright Ideas Press, I wanted to focus this next year on American History. With the way our country is today, it is important for me to teach how the country was founded and why it was founded. After much praying and researching, I decided on My Father’s World, Adventures in U.S. History. We will be doing everything they offer in their deluxe package, with exception of their science. Notebooking will also be a big part of our schooling this year as well. We will be notebooking through the 50 states for history and geography.

{Language Arts}

We will also be switching up our Language Arts curriculum. We will finish the Bob Jones English I have from last year, but we will be adding in Growing with Grammar, A Reason For Spelling and A Reason for Handwriting. I haven’t used a Spelling or Handwriting curriculum with the kids before. I have always printed off worksheets and just worked on the words as we came across them in our English book. I felt like we needed to step it up in this area of our schooling.

{Math}

For Math, we will finish up our Bob Jones curriculum from last year. Once they finish those books, we will begin using A+ TutorSoft. They will be doing the math on the computer. I think this will be a good switch for the kids. I also have the Life of Fred books; Apples, Butterflies, Cats, Dogs and Edgewood. That I got for a great deal and we will be trying those out. Everyone that I have talked with that has used them, has said they have been a success.

{Science}

Since I have been homeschooling for so long, some companies and curriculum have just worked for us. One of those companies is Apologia and their science curriculum. We will be using their new science book, Exploring Creation with Chemistry and Physics along with their Jr. Notebooking journals. I have used Apologia science curriculum for 7 years now and my children and I thoroughly enjoy reading the lessons and doing their activities. I have learned as much as they have!

{Bible}

We will also be sticking with Apologia for Bible as we go through their curriculum book, Who is God? We will be using their coloring book and their notebooking journal. I bought this book last year, but when we moved, I set it aside since we had so many changes to begin with. We will also be covering Bible lessons that My Father’s World has in Adventures in U.S. History.

{Fine Arts}

My kids love to draw and listen to music, so for Fine Arts we will be using See The Light for art lessons. Pat Knepley is amazing in the See The Light art dvd’s. My kids really enjoy listening to her explain how to draw. For music, we will be using Young Scholar’s Guide to Composers (Bright Ideas Press) and Introduction to Tchaikovsky & the Nutcracker Suite (My Father’s World).

After writing it all out, it seems like an awful lot of work to do and yet, I still feel like I have not added everything that I have planned! We won’t be doing ever subject every day. We will also be adding in field trips with our homeschool group. Our youngest daughter will be taking dance lessons and our youngest son is wanting to play sports. Once you fill in those days, I think it will be a well rounded year for us.

Are you excited about the upcoming school year? I would love for you to share what all you and your family will be doing. Be sure to stop by and link up with iHomeschool Network and see what others are doing. As you will see, all homeschooling families are unique and do what is best for them and their families. THAT is what is so wonderful about homeschooling!

Dew Learning Online Christian Curriculum

April 12, 2013Written by Joy

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Dew Learning Online Christian Curriculum

Just released this year is a new online curriculum. It is Dew Learning, an online Christian curriculum. They released the Kindergarten – Fourth Grade at the beginning of the year and will release Fifth-Twelfth grade in the Summer of 2014. This online curriculum was made for the iPad. However, you can use it on a computer as well. Word is, that they are working on an android version for those who do not own an iPad.

Some of the features of this new curriculum include Daily Lessons. They have 8 different subjects;

Art – 72 lessons or two days a week
Bible – 180 lessons or 5 days a week
Language Arts – 180 lessons or 5 days a week
Math – 180 lessons for 5 days a week
Music – 72 lessons or two days a week
PE/Health – 72 lessons or two days a week
Science – 108 lessons or three days a week
Social Studies – 108 lessons or three days week

Other features include:

Interactive Games and Quizzes
PDF Worksheets
Lectures
Teachers
24/7 access to the iPad and Computer
Back up and Storage

What are the prices for this online Christian curriculum? You can buy the curriculum by individual subjects for $65 each or you can buy all 8 subjects for $295. You can pre-order by calling them at 770-240-1005.

You can also register to win an iPad or a full year of curriculum by filling out this form.

Be sure to stop by Dew Learning to learn more about their Statement of Faith and their Philosophy of a Christian Education. You can also find them on Facebook and Twitter.

Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post that I was compensated for.

2013, homeschooling Christian, curriculum, Dew Learning, iPad, Online, review

Creating A Masterpiece ~ review and giveaway!!

March 29, 2013Written by Joy

25 Comments

**UPDATE: Congrats to Rebecca Tice winning the Level 1 Art DVD!!

Sharon Hofer, a professional artist, noticed a need when her art classes at Hidden Acres Art School‘s waiting list kept growing and growing. She had parents asking her how they could help their children in art, while waiting for a space to open up in a class. By this growing need, she started Creating a Masterpiece. Creating A Masterpiece is a DVD art curriculum for kids of all ages. She teaches them in realism and impressionistic styles. What I love most though, is that Sharon first goal is to help others create art that glorifies God. I don’t think you could ask for anything better than that.

Lessons in Pencil: Sunflower and Lessons in Pencil/Charcoal: Stork.

The first DVD that we received to review was the Level 1 Lessons in Pencil: Sunflower. In this lesson, Sharon teaches about the basic lines that you will draw with, straight and curved. She also shares how to draw with texture as well as the importance of shading. The materials that you use are the basic drawing materials. You will need a #2 pencil, a #6b pencil, drawing paper, a stiff bristled brush and and a tortillon (a roll of paper used to blend). The art DVD is divided into 7 chapters with her going over the different steps until you get the final picture that you are looking for.

Sarah’s final Sunflower picture.

The next DVD that we reviewed was the Lessons in Pencil and Charcoal: Stork. This is a Level 3 DVD. In this lesson, Sharon takes you through the steps of sketching and then shading the stork with charcoal. She also teaches you the different values in the bird, as well as how to blend with a kneaded eraser. The materials needed for this project are: a stick of charcoal, a #2b pencil, a kneading eraser and paper. Sharon has divided this lesson up into 4 chapters. By the time this lesson is over, you will have a beautiful picture of a stork.

Sarah’s final Stork picture.

As you saw, we did a Level 1 and a Level 3 lesson. Creating a Masterpiece has 5 different levels, teaching is these different mediums; pencil, charcoal, acrylic, ink, pastels, Copper tooling, sculpture, silk painting and water colors. The lessons, are well laid out and she explains everything in detail to where you can understand and follow along without any trouble. The materials that are needed you can find at your local art store.

Our overall experience with Creating a Masterpiece was very nice. We enjoyed the lessons a lot. Sharon has a wonderful way of explaining in detail, that the kids can understand and enjoy. You can tell that she truly has a love of art and enjoys teaching it to others.

Creating a Masterpiece has just added a coupon that you can get the same discount for a year’s curriculum (6 DVD’s) but allows you to choose which 6 DVD’s that you want. All you have to do is enter the discount code “setof6”.

Creating a Masterpiece has also offered to give away to one of my readers a DVD. I have chosen the Level 1 DVD “Sunflower“. All you have to do is enter the correct information into the rafflecopter widget below! I will choose a winner on April 5th.
a Rafflecopter giveaway

disclaimer: This was a compensated review. All opinions expressed are my own.

2013, homeschooling, review art, Creating A Masterpiece, curriculum, homeschooling, stork, sunflower