book and friend.

they model what they're shown.

oh, Papa, i haven't read enough and laughed enough.

yet somehow, you bring forth the desires of my heart for this boy...

and he pours out Your love.

Little Blue and his sweet friend, K.

precious days... {homeschool projects}

i once said i'd never co-op again, after experience led me through some very hard times, and after a season where i realized i was spending more time managing parents and their issues than tending to my own children's experience and education.  for the last year-ish, we've found a solution that works very well for our family. 

our dear friends have the same number of kiddos and a very similar age lineup, and very comparable curriculum and style/ heart for our children's education and spiritual growth.  it's been a natural fit to spend a day a week together doing special projects that line up with what we're doing in our  own homes, and using our combined resources to give them a richer teaching.

i think it works for us because we respect each other's individuality, while learning from each other.  i only hope my friend and her students gain as much as i know our family does!

this year:

preschool time.  we alternate weeks to teach.  we're loosely building from early education at home, a book first given to me by a homeschool mama about 10 years ago when my oldest was a little guy!

history.  we both use tapestry of grace and are on the same schedule, so we take turns leading a project or two and /or teaching time on our current subject/time period of history.

science for our "middles."  beautiful feet history of science was our choice (i'm doing apologia's anatomy with mine as well). 

the "big two" are working mostly independently in their second year of the one year adventure novel.

the "second born" for each of us is working together to do a stop-motion film project.  if they can stay focused and on-task.  otherwise they'll be assigned a more supervised project.  ;)

we alternate weekly between my hubby teaching woodworking when we host, and the other momma teaching art.  there are some cool projects lined up for these subjects!

these moments are precious to me because i know it's a choice and a sacrifice for us each to give up a day of our own school, but it's a dear gift that helps me get done projects i always wanted to, and it provides encouragement and accountability for my children and myself!  (plus it's super-cool to see my hubby teaching something he enjoys as well!)

summer fun...

we're wrapping up our summer; really, we are! we had our friends over for a day and the boys built rockets (too busy to get good photos!), while the girls baked cookies.  could've been the other way around, but everybody had fun... especially the cookie-partakers! (of which i might have been one...)

i'm not gonna lie, i'm pretty nervous about diving back into school.  especially with an adorably-ornery blue-eyed almost-three-year-old.  but since we said we'd school through the summer and largely didn't, (well, formally, anyway!), we'd best get our buns in gear!  so it's planning week, and next week is officially get-back-in-the-groove week, and the NEXT week, well, we plan to start studying.  our curriculum.  for real!  but there will still be rocket-building.  and cookie-baking.  and the journey continues.  :)

Tapestry of Grace - TOS Product Review

Tapestry of Grace is a curriculum designed along classical education philosophy that is multi-level, literature-based, cyclical on a four-year rotation, and inclusive of many subjects including history, fine arts, writing, philosophy, Bible, literature, and more.

Our family had heard the "buzz" about Tapestry of Grace for several years before we chose to use it in our home. To be honest, it overwhelmed me when I saw the giant notebook with lists of books and activities, and knowing myself, I thought, "I'd beat myself up if I couldn't do it all."

What changed our minds was when we visited friends who have four boys similar in ages to our gang, and when I, as mom, could get hands-on and see it in action. In the end, it is what we chose as our core, adding in Science, Math, language (Grammar or Latin or, soon, Spanish), and the occasional "extra."

Classical education is based on several concepts, but a core idea is that there are four main learning/developmental levels that children progress through, and Tapestry of Grace is designed to cycle through history, ideally four times, each time going deeper and adding age-appropriate literature. It includes book lists of both "spine" or "core" reading, as well as suggested supplementary reading, that can be purchased or checked out from the library (or borrowed from friends - in our case we've found several like-minded families who use Tapestry, and often borrow or lend as schedules allow). Some of the books are recommended as read-alouds, and others include hands-on activities. The idea is that the teaching parent will pick and choose as they feel able/appropriate for their home and students.

Tapestry also includes a writing component (purchased individually) which assigns grade-appropriate projects tied to the current period of study. It is in-depth and well-rounded, incorporating vital aspects of good writing with review. There are teacher sections which actually review all the information children are expected to glean, discussion ideas and questions, co-op activity ideas, and more. One can also purchase lapbooks, "Pop Quizzes," which are discussion questions for dads (or working parents), and evaluations, for each year-plan.

My only struggle with Tapestry has been the cost (the year-plan without any extra books and products is $170 for digital or $290 for digital and printed), and the sometimes-confusing aspect (for me) in ordering. Recently the company has gone to offering their year-plans as digital products, which some find a huge benefit. I can see the blessing in having a digital copy, but taking the cost into consideration and being a person who needs to "hold it," I will personally probably end up having my products printed and paying even more. That said, I look at this curriculum as rich in knowledge and activity, and ripe with Christ-centered application, and have viewed the expense as an investment into the future faith-life and education of all five of our arrows.
When encouraging any fellow mom in curriculum choice, I always say, "look at the other moms around you who are using it. Are they "like you" in teaching style? Are their families anything like yours in schedule, priorities, and dynamic?" In our case, the families we saw using Tapestry either were similar in style, or were pursuing the passion and activities we wanted to include in our homeschool lifestyle.

Worth mentioning, also, is the fact that you can go to the Tapestry of Grace website and order a three week trial of the curriculum to try for yourself!

nature study.

week 3? i think. i've gotta dig up the link for you for the challenge we're doing - getting out and studying Papa's big world. anyway, we love breathing deeply and soaking it all in - especially when the weather's as God-beautiful as it has been.

Bible Story Songs - Review

Bible Story Songs is a series of CD's created to help kids fill their hearts and minds with God's Word.
We received Matthew, Volume 1, to listen to and enjoy!

This CD reminds me of when the "bigs" were little... and we listened to sweet little tunes all day long. A kids' choir sings scripture set to music reminiscent of every Vacation Bible School I can remember. Lighthearted and upbeat, if you have little ones, it might just be perfect for you!
My only "criticism" is that the songs are awfully repetitive and simplistic in tune... but this might be just what some little ones would enjoy during quiet time or drive time.

The CD's are reasonably priced and are definitely scripture based. Enjoy!

Help for teaching mommas...

Imagine if you were just beginning your homeschool journey. (With a little Providence, some of you reading right now are!) What if you had a sort of mentor-mom; someone to hold your hand, and walk alongside you in your journey? What if there was a resource that could show you shortcuts and tips to enrich your homeschool experience, for you and your kids?
Terri Johnson of Knowledge Quest has created just such a resource, called Homeschooling ABCs. It's available online, and it is an entire series of "lessons" with bonus curriculum gifts for beginning homeschool parents.

To be honest, when I received this item, I sort of felt I'd simply be reviewing it for "newbies." I found, though, that there were tons of tips I can incorporate, even after some 8 years "in the trenches." Some of the topics covered include organization of your supplies, scheduling, teaching multiple ages, and acquiring the right curriculum for your family. A unique feature of this program is that it is written as a series of emails that you will receive on a timed schedule, complete with "homework" to complete to help you move forward to creating your ideal home learning environment. The cost is reasonable - $10 per month for 6 months, and Knowledge Quest offers a 100% money back guarantee for the first 60 days of class. Check it out!

Curriculum Review: The Latin Road/The Bridge to The Latin Road

We have wanted to study Latin in our home fro quite some time. I was, therefore, super excited when I found we were going to receive The Latin Road to The English Language from Schola Publications to review for TOS Crew!

We were graciously allowed to choose which curriculum we wanted, and I first chose The Latin Road, which is a full-on Latin Curriculum. After a few days of being overwhelmed, (this is an INTENSE and thorough study of Latin that treats it as a full language study) I decided for my crew of 12, 11, 9, and 6 year olds, The Bridge to The Latin Road was our best bet, and exchanged. What we received is an in-depth grammar program based on the idea of creating framing keys to help students form a solid foundation for their coming Latin study.

Provided in the curriculum are student text, worksheets, answer guides, CD's, flashcards, as well as a Teacher's Guide which has instructional DVD's.

As students learn "framing codes," they work their way through parts of speech through dictation, sentence analysis, and diagramming.

What I love: extrememly thorough. A student who completed this program would have a superior grasp of English Grammar. Includes pronunciation guides, lots of handwriting practice, and oral drills.

Not so much: I personally found this a bit dry and complicated, though I suspect this may be more my teaching personality at work (which is why a variety of reviews is a GOOD thing!)

I would NOT recommend this as a follow-up to another grammar program (as we tried to do) - for our family it was overkill. However, for a family who is searching for a complete and thorough grammar curriculum, and a teacher who has lots of time to prepare and teach, this is a strong consideration.

FOR SURE, visit the Schola Publications website. It is a wealth of information on both the curriculae offered and the study of Latin in general!

Note: The author also offers The Phonics Road for younger students. For a classical teacher, this might be an excellent consideration.

Oh, boy, here we go...

always wanted to learn Latin. isn't that a good reason to teach the "bigs"? actually, we are going to study it for greater language grasp, to improve our spelling, and to widen the opportunities if they want to study other languages. wasn't i a happy little bird when this arrived as a product to review for our journey with the TOS Crew?!

on another note (sort of), it's been a really awesome couple of weeks back to school. i think the gang was ready to be done with our "break" and back to our routine. there's nothing in the world sweeter than curling up on a giant beanbag next to a few of my little people and reading together. i think it might be even cooler (okay, didn't i just say that was impossible?) when they're engrossed in their own books. it's a Marco Polo week... joshie says, "mom, this guy was kind of wierd!" and there you have it.