Ethan and I had the chance last week to review a sweet little reading site called Rime to Read.
Visiting the site reminds me of my friend Tami, who always helps me remember the principal of keeping it simple. In our fast-paced world, even those of us who "stay at home" (ha!) for our schooling have resources abounding at our very fingertips. It's easy to overwhelm ourselves and our children with curriculum craziness.
Rime to Read is intentionally a very streamlined series of books available for you and your child to read, and print if you desire, from their site. As children learn "rimes," they are led through a series of stories that build their reading vocabulary. Nope, I didn't misspell - "rimes" are words that both sound, and look, alike... examples would be big, pig, wig, fig, or cat, bat, sat, and rat!
An added bonus is that key words are color-highlighted, and your reader can click on those words to hear them read aloud! (Ethan LOVED this feature - he had to click on each word, whether he "needed" to or not!)
Theoretically, we learn these groups or "families" of words, and as our knowledge expands, so does our ability to read!
I've had the privelege of communicating with Lynn of Rittenhouse Reading, who manages Rime to Read, and asked her a few preliminary questions. Here are her helpful answers!
"A child who already knows consonant sounds fairly well, can recognize both upper and lower case letters, and who expresses a desire to learn to read
is ready to begin using Rime to Read.
It is not necessary to use another program in conjunction with Rime to Read. If too many different approaches are being used simultaneously, it can get confusing. It is not a very long program, and when completed, children are ready to leap into more advanced readers. The wonderful thing about our program, is that it is a cumulative. Each books teaches a new “rime” or word family and new sight words while reviewing those taught in previous books. Short vowel sounds, sightwords and some consonant blends and digraphs are taught in the 20 books. The most common praise we here from parents is that the children feel so proud of themselves while working through the books. They were carefully designed for success. "
If you have a beginner in the "Three R's," and especially if you're longing to get back to the basics, Rime to Read is just the program for you!
Monday, November 17, 2008
fun with a camera.
this weekend was full of sessions... i had some serious fun with my trusty side-kick jr. now to get caught up on some serious editing! 
crazy antics to get a killer shot.
one of my two bestest assistants.
the fun and fabulous w. family.
the brave and very cool c/g families.
crazy antics to get a killer shot. one of my two bestest assistants.
the fun and fabulous w. family.
the brave and very cool c/g families.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Time4Learning
This week we also began our journey with Time4Learning. This is an online subscription-based learning site where the kids can log in and complete educational activities in a game-type format. At first glance it looks to be a neat site... the kids are "placed" according to a simple preliminary parent-evaluation survey. As they progress, I'll be able to track their successes and spot areas that need more work. The "bigs" are excited for this "extra" opportunity for computer time. I especially anticipate it as a benefit for E, who always needs fun add-ons while the bigger ones go deeper.
Jesse Tree
I have just discovered the neatest opportunity to incorporate into our Christmas season this year. I'd been reading about the Jesse Tree in a homeschool forum, and thought it sounded like such a powerful way to remind ourselves of the true reasons Christians celebrate.
The Jesse Tree is a tree or branch that is decorated, one day at a time, with ornaments that represent the story and lineage of Jesus. Similar to the concept of the Advent Wreath (which, with its rich history, became our favorite Christmas tradition last year - thanks Amy S.!!), the Jesse Tree becomes a living reminder of the depth of our history as children of the King of Kings.
If you're local (and maybe even if you're not, my blog sisters! Email me and let's figure out how to make it happen!) I'd like to invite you to join my friend Brenda in a Jesse Tree Ornament Exchange and begin a powerful new Christmas Tradition. Visit her site 2008JesseTree.blogspot.com to learn more!
begging to multiply!
okay, i've gotta be honest - at 6th and 5th grade, my boys still - STILL - do not consistently know their times tables. i know i need to get to that, and it's slowing down our math progress, but it just hasn't happened! i mean well - we have flash cards, and every-so-often, we dig them out at dinner. perhaps it's because i had a "crisis" as a kid when i got spanked by the principal for not knowing mine on time, and then talking back to the teacher about it. eek!
flash forward to this last week, when we received a little bundle from trigger memory systems, as part of our journey with The Old Schoolhouse TOS Crew. they included some adorable chore flip charts and - lo and behold - Times Tales. Times Tales is an awesome system of line drawings and "picture stories" that teach kids their multiplication facts, almost without their knowing! the proof is in the pudding... at 11 and 10, brian and joshua are eating it up. at 8 and 5, anna and ethan are begging - BEGGING - to "do Times Tales" every evening.
after day 1, in which we spent about 1 hour reading through the first section and quickly learning the little stories, we pulled out flash cards (included, both with and without picture cues) at dinner with daddy. the kids floored him with how much they'd learned in one day. now, let me be direct and say, i won't go around telling people to spend their hard-earned, carefully-budgeted funds if i don't believe in something. but i am telling you, get this product! if you homeschool or not, if you have kids who will ever need to multiply, go to this site and order this product. may your precious ones be spared childhood multiplicatory trauma!
p.s. - yes, we are homeschoolers, and yes, it is 10:57 am, and yes, they are doing math in - or out of - their pj's!
flash forward to this last week, when we received a little bundle from trigger memory systems, as part of our journey with The Old Schoolhouse TOS Crew. they included some adorable chore flip charts and - lo and behold - Times Tales. Times Tales is an awesome system of line drawings and "picture stories" that teach kids their multiplication facts, almost without their knowing! the proof is in the pudding... at 11 and 10, brian and joshua are eating it up. at 8 and 5, anna and ethan are begging - BEGGING - to "do Times Tales" every evening.
after day 1, in which we spent about 1 hour reading through the first section and quickly learning the little stories, we pulled out flash cards (included, both with and without picture cues) at dinner with daddy. the kids floored him with how much they'd learned in one day. now, let me be direct and say, i won't go around telling people to spend their hard-earned, carefully-budgeted funds if i don't believe in something. but i am telling you, get this product! if you homeschool or not, if you have kids who will ever need to multiply, go to this site and order this product. may your precious ones be spared childhood multiplicatory trauma!
p.s. - yes, we are homeschoolers, and yes, it is 10:57 am, and yes, they are doing math in - or out of - their pj's!
Thursday, November 6, 2008
oh, Papa...
i want to trust you, i do! you give us reason after reason to praise you for your faithfulness. you truly hold us in the palm of your hand!
I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.
so why, oh why, is it so hard to rest there?
why do i so easily forget your provision, your comfort, and your strength? why, when the world is as the world will be until you return, do i act surprised?
But let all who take refuge in you be glad; let them ever sing for joy. Spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may rejoice in you.
my husband and i have often said, almost jokingly, that if our homeland became "unsafe" for our children, we would move to where we could raise them at peace. yet as our dear country careens on a path toward darkness and ever-increasingly-evil choices, i hear Him gently remind me that we know of countless young parents who have answered His call to take their children where it is "unsafe" in order to carry the message of God's love to his people worldwide. i know that He mourns with me as we choose leaders who will not honor Him with their decisions. i know that He calls me to honor them second to my obeying Him. and i know without doubt that He has called us to raise our precious children as sharpened arrows, prepared with wisdom, and knowledge, and strength, to fire His grace into the world around them. who knows where He will call us - and them? perhaps He says to dig deep and be as trees planted by still water - a source of strenth in a faltering land. but it will be His call we will heed. and God help us, it will be with the faith that He will strengthen our feeble arms for the task at hand.
Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life...
I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.
so why, oh why, is it so hard to rest there?
why do i so easily forget your provision, your comfort, and your strength? why, when the world is as the world will be until you return, do i act surprised?
But let all who take refuge in you be glad; let them ever sing for joy. Spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may rejoice in you.
my husband and i have often said, almost jokingly, that if our homeland became "unsafe" for our children, we would move to where we could raise them at peace. yet as our dear country careens on a path toward darkness and ever-increasingly-evil choices, i hear Him gently remind me that we know of countless young parents who have answered His call to take their children where it is "unsafe" in order to carry the message of God's love to his people worldwide. i know that He mourns with me as we choose leaders who will not honor Him with their decisions. i know that He calls me to honor them second to my obeying Him. and i know without doubt that He has called us to raise our precious children as sharpened arrows, prepared with wisdom, and knowledge, and strength, to fire His grace into the world around them. who knows where He will call us - and them? perhaps He says to dig deep and be as trees planted by still water - a source of strenth in a faltering land. but it will be His call we will heed. and God help us, it will be with the faith that He will strengthen our feeble arms for the task at hand.
Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life...
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
reading and chore charts and websites, oh my!
this week we're inundated with a veritable cornucopia of homeschool products to try as part of the TOS Crew... and we've been diving in to start checking them out!
first up this week, we've signed up the four "bigs" for our trial of Time For Learning. I'm super excited about this opportunity, as friends have recommended the subscription-based learning site as a great "extra" to our school repertoire.
We are also reading some excellent books from Salem Ridge Press and Media Angels, two companies I can't wait to tell you about. We've received some cool flip charts from Triggermemorysystem.com, as well as a Multiplication-Table learning tool I'd been dying to try. We'll be starting a new spelling program, and several other products are lined up and ready to go. Woohoo - it's gonna be a fun ride! (Be sure to click on the links for more information...)
first up this week, we've signed up the four "bigs" for our trial of Time For Learning. I'm super excited about this opportunity, as friends have recommended the subscription-based learning site as a great "extra" to our school repertoire.
We are also reading some excellent books from Salem Ridge Press and Media Angels, two companies I can't wait to tell you about. We've received some cool flip charts from Triggermemorysystem.com, as well as a Multiplication-Table learning tool I'd been dying to try. We'll be starting a new spelling program, and several other products are lined up and ready to go. Woohoo - it's gonna be a fun ride! (Be sure to click on the links for more information...)
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