We Have Winners!

I want to thank everyone who entered my give aways during the Fall Curriculum Clean Out!   I know you’re all anxious to find out if you won, and just so you’ll know who DID when I’m posting it here.

The winner for the  U.S. Gov. & Politics AP Exam Prep is comment #9 Cierra!

The winner of the Chicka Chicka Boom Boom is comment #76 Karen!

The winner of the Artistic Pursuits curriculum is #112 Mozi Esme!

Just so you’ll know, I picked the winners by saying “honey pick a number between 1 and ______” (the blank of course being the total number of comments per giveaway.

I have contacted all winners by email.  If I do not hear from you by September 3 I will pick a new winner.

Thanks so much for stopping by to visit and I hope you all come back regularly!

Weekly Wrap Up – The One Where We Rebuilt the Solar System!

It’s hard to believe that we have already finished up four weeks of the new school year!  We’ve also finished up the first grading period for our Abeka work as well.   Time is just whizzing by anymore!

Olivia is loving the All About Spelling program!  I finally found a bigger magnetic dry erase board for her.  I wish I’d found a 24X36, but this will work for now.   Working with the spelling tiles is also helping with her dexterity in her hands, an added bonus!

Lindsey is doing great with her lessons as well.  The more work she has, the better she likes it.  I hope that’s always her mindset.  She’s keeping up nicely with Olivia in First Language Lessons, Latin, science and geography.

We finished up our study of South Carolina this week.  I’m doing much better of sticking with 2 weeks per state this year.  This week we studied the state coin and completed our collage and our state coloring page from Crayola, and our 2 page layout in our United States Coloring Book.

Our state meal from Eat Your Way Through the USA by Loree Pettit, consisted of savory baked chicken, dilled squash bread and fudge ribbon cake with chocolate frosting.  Yummmo!  I’m not a big fan of dill, but this was pretty tasty, and a good way to use up some of my end of season squashes.

Science has got to be the girls favorite subject at the moment.  They are loving the hands on activities and usually ask to do science even when it’s not our “scheduled” day for it.   This week we learned about the solar system.  After we completed our study of each planet, we built a model of the solar system for future studying.  We used a  craft kit that I found at a discount store for $3 over a year ago!

The painting took some patience.  All those little holes in the Styrofoam were tricky!

We had to let the paints dry overnight, so if you were feeling like things were a bit off kilter this week, blame us.  We had your solar system in limbo for a bit!

Olivia was feeling a bit like “Horton Hears a Who” with Pluto.

Thankfully, it didn’t take too long to get things back in order.  Saturn turned out especially lovely I think.

Olivia started piano lessons this week, and she had a blast!  She’s been practicing a lot each day and is already asking about the recital.  The biggest thrill, for me anyway, was at dinner the night of her first lesson.  She asked if she could say the blessing over the food, and then she finished up with “and thank you God for letting me take piano lessons!”

There was only one baseball game scheduled for this week and  it was rained out.  I’m secretly glad that it was cancelled, just to give Olivia a little extra mental recovery time before her first post-accident game.  On a positive note, her stitches were removed this week and she did well with that.  The scar isn’t as bad as I’d thought, and hopefully it’ll diminish with time as well.

I hope everyone else had a fabulous week!  Be sure to visit the Weekly Wrap Up.

Home Economics 101

It’s amazing how many misconceptions there are among people about homeschooling.   Some people think homeschoolers are a strange lot, with little contact with “the outside world”.  Others think we are constantly pouring over books with little interest in anything else.  Still others really don’t know what it is we do, but they just know it’s got to be weird.

Technically, I don’t consider general life skills to be “homeschooling”.  I consider it to be good parenting.  Regardless of whether your child is homeschooled or attends public or private school they need to be taught life skills.  By life skills I mean things like how to cook, clean, do laundry, manage money…you know LIFE skills.

I find that both the girls are great helpers.  They WANT to work alongside their father and I.  Does that mean you just tell them to do something and then leave them to it?  No, you train them in how you want it done.  It may take longer at first, but the goal is to teach them how to do it properly, speed will come with practice.   Chore charts are a fun way to organize who does what and when.   Olivia and Lindsey know to check their charts daily and that it’s their responsibility to complete their tasks.  Again, each task is something they have already been trained to do properly.  New tasks are taught along side of me (or dad).   You can print off some cute character chore charts by clicking here.

Cooking is one of those things that all kids like to do.   We have a gas stove, so for safety reasons neither girls is allowed to actually cook on it yet.  That will come with age.  What they do love is measuring ingredients, mixing, doing the preliminary work and setting the table.

Making homemade pizza is a fun family activity, a delicious meal and various “school” topics wrapped up into one fun activity. (Measuring, vocabulary, dividing, distribution and presentation.) After we measured out the ingredients and mixed everything up, the girls had to work together to divide the dough evenly (give or take).

Then we measured out sauce, cheese, toppings and set them to work.  During this step we focused on distributing things evenly and presentation.

  Their pizzas were yummy!  Olivia finally tried pepperoni and found out she REALLY likes it on her pizza!   Unfortunately I forgot to take photos of the finished product after the baking period.  

U.S. Gov. & Politics AP Exam Prep - Giveaway

Sheesh, that title is a mouthful isn’t it?  This product is produced by Cerebellum Corp. and is a DVD.

U.S. Gov & Politics AP* Exam Prep program takes a look at factors that influenced the adoption of the Constitution, the institutions of National Government, and much more! Topics are taught in a lively and accessible style combining colorful graphics with fun and entertaining programming.

Light Speed Advanced Placement videos reviews the 30 most tested topics, provides tips and strategies on passing the test, and gives insightful advance on writing the short-response answers. This is the first program of its kind, so go paperless and use this test-prep video to pass the exam! Digital Workbook included with handouts, quizzes, and activities to reinforce the topic before and after the video.

To enter to win, leave a comment below.  For an additional entry become a follower of  Learning Curve and leave a 2nd comment.  If you already follow give yourself a 2nd entry as well.

I’ll post a winner on August 28, 2010.  Please make sure you put an email address in your comment.  If I can not contact you another winner will be picked.  Shipping to continental United States only.

Be sure to check our all the other give aways during the Curriculum Clean Out! by clicking here.

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom – Give Away

Here’s another fun give away for the “littles” in your family.  This is a soft back version of the children's favorite, with  an accompanying CD by Ray Charles!

To enter to win, leave a comment below.  For an additional entry become a follower of  Learning Curve and leave a 2nd comment.  If you already follow give yourself a 2nd entry as well.

I’ll post a winner on August 28, 2010.  Please make sure you put an email address in your comment.  If I can not contact you another winner will be picked.  Shipping to continental United States only.

Don’t forget to check out the all the other Curriculum Clean Out giveaways by clicking here.

Artistic Pursuits – Give Away

This particular Artistic Pursuits product “The Way They See It” is geared towards preschool age children.  There are 19 “lessons” that teach skills with scissors, pencil, crayons, markers, adhesives and paints.

To enter to win, leave a comment below.  For an additional entry become a follower of  Learning Curve and leave a 2nd comment.  If you already follow give yourself a 2nd entry as well.

I’ll post a winner on August 28, 2010.  Please make sure you put an email address in your comment.  If I can not contact you another winner will be picked.  Shipping to continental United States only.

Be sure to check out all the other Curriculum Clean Out! give aways by clicking here.

Weekly Wrap Up – The Short Week

I’ve noticed that Olivia has forgotten some of her addition facts over the summer.  So this week, we made an addition fact lapbook from Homeschool Share.  We also included a domino game to put into our lapbook.  Olivia enjoyed making the lapbook, and she’ll be reviewing it on a daily basis until they are memorized more firmly.  Once that task is complete, we’ll do a weekly or monthly review.

 

We’ve started our study of South Carolina this week.   We worked on our state map and state fact sheet.  Then we moved on to our famous South Carolinian, Mary McLeod Bethune.

Books we used:

Mary McLeod Bethune: A Great Teacher; by Patrick and Frederick McKissack
Mary McLeod Bethune Educator; by Malu Halasa
South Carolina; by Myra S. Weatherly
South Carolina; by R. Conrad Stein

On Wednesday evening, I made my first ever emergency room trip with an injured child.  If you’ve paid close attention to the two photos above, you may see why.  Our ball player has an official “battle scar”.  Read all the gory details here.

In science we’ve started studying the solar system.  This week we made paper models of the solar system (and then added them to our science notebooks).   They are loving the hands on projects!

 

Lindsey’s cursive writing is improving greatly.  I think the fact that her hands are a wee bit bigger this year is a big help for her.  She’s quite proud of herself….can’t you tell?

On Friday, we took our first official “Friday Fun Day” off from school.  My plan is to have one of these days each month.  Our day started out early as we drove to a nearby town and picked up a friend for a surprise sleepover.   Then we traveled further north to go swimming and have a picnic with one of my oldest friends and her teenage daughters.   Then we were back home for some downtime, and then off to Olivia’s baseball game.   She sat the game out after her incident from earlier this week.   I’m hoping that by next week she’ll be brave and try ease back into the outfield…but time will tell.

Be sure to check out the Weekly Wrap Up! this week.

Ouch!

Well after 7 years of parenting, I finally got to make my first (and hopefully last) trip to the ER for an injury.  Olivia had a ball game scheduled tonight.  We got to the field, she set her things down, I started to set up my chair and I heard her crying….turned around to see a bloody mouth.

Several hours later, we’re home with this….

Five stitches in her face.  Antibiotics for 7 days.  A trip to the dentist tomorrow to see about the tooth.  (A permanent front tooth no less.)

What happened you ask?  One of her teammates, who has been told over and over again to not to throw balls recklessly still didn’t listen.  She had just put her glove on and thrown a ball to her practice partner.  Meanwhile the reckless teammate picked up a ball and threw it full force from less than 3 feet.  The hole in her face is where the tooth came all the way through her skin…not her lip, her skin.

I must admit, she was a lot braver than I thought she’d be.  They ER doctor gave me the option of gluing her face together or stitching.  I asked him, if he were in my shoes, and this was his 7 year old daughter what he’d pick.  He said the stitches, it’ll make a neater scar.

So I got the task of explaining in detail what was going to happen. The shot in the lip to numb it, the sewing just like when  and then we’re done.  Have I mentioned that Olivia is terrified of shots?   There is probably no worse feeling in the world than to have to hold your child down for the numbing shot.  Once that was over things went well….she didn’t even flinch during the stitching. 

Poor Lindsey is so compassionate about her sister.  She started crying when Olivia got hurt and didn’t stop until after we left the hospital. 

Stopped to get gas and bought everyone a Slurpee…that seemed to help everyone.  Except me. 

I’m still really mad to be honest about it. Besides a scarred face, a possible loss of a permanent tooth and unnecessary medical and dental bills, I now have a child who loves to play ball but is terrified to try and play again.   All because someone else won’t listen.  Gonna have to pray about this one… 

Free African Mission Trip - Giveaway

Witness one of the most astounding Gospel events of our generation — a Reinhard Bonnke Crusade!

Enter to win this all expenses paid, short-term missions trip to an African evangelistic crusade hosted by Evangelists Reinhard Bonnke and Daniel Kolenda. On this trip of a lifetime, you and a friend or relative of your choice will travel to a remote African city and witness the power of the Full-Gospel as hundreds of thousands gather and receive Christ. You'll be astounded and amazed at the crusade, plus you'll experience the culture, scenery, and fascinating people along the way.

Enter now and every time you share this opportunity with a friend or relative and they sign up, we'll automatically enter your name again for the drawing

Drawing Held on October 1, 2010
Trip Occurs the Week of November 8, 2010

Click here to enter!

Weekly Wrap Up: The One That Was “Normal”

Week number two has come and gone without anything dramatic or unusual!  Olivia had two baseball games this week.  One was good, one was….less than good.  The kids had fun though!

We took a wonderful field trip to the Frontier Culture Museum. I just love this place!  So many things to see and do (like carding wool) and each of their reenactors have so much knowledge about the roles they play.  Click here to read all about it.

Both girls are moving pretty quickly through their math.  Olivia has finished the first 19 lessons of her math and Lindsey has finished 15 lessons.  Approximately the first 30 lessons of Abeka are review, so that’s why we’re moving so quickly.  We’ll slow down once we get to to the new items.

We completed the first year of All About Spelling this week.  We’ll begin year 2 on Monday.  I haven’t really looked at it yet, so I’m not sure if we’ll be moving as quickly through this segment or not.

Olivia and Lindsey are both enjoying the First Language Lessons.  They have both memorized their first poem “The Caterpillar” and can recite it without any help.  Olivia really likes the narration and copy work from Writing With Ease.   She’s also really enjoying using the StudyPod to hold her books during the copy work sessions.

In our Maryland study this week, we completed our state coin sheet for our notebook.  We studied the Baltimore Oriole (the bird not the team).   Both girls also finished up their 2 page layouts in their United States coloring books.

We learned about our 2nd famous person from Maryland, Thurgood Marshall.   Thurgood Marshall was known as “Mr. Civil Rights” because he spent his long career fighting for equality for all Americans.

Books we used:

A Picture Book of Thurgood Marshall; by David A. Adler
Portrait of African-American Heroes; by Tonya Bolden

To wrap up our state study, we typically cook a meal from our Eat Your Way Through the USA by Loree Pettit.  However, the main portion of this mean is crab cakes.  I’m very allergic to shellfish, so we skipped that, but we did make a lovely pound cake from the Maryland recipe list.

1cup milk
2 cups sugar
2 sticks butter, softened
3 cups flour
4 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt.

Cream sugar, eggs, butter and vanilla.  Gradually add sifted flour and baking soda.  Add milk.  Bake at 350 for 50 minutes in a greased loaf pan.

We started back into Latin this week.  The songs really help us all to remember the phrases so much better than just trying to memorize them alone. We’re incorporating this weeks words (greetings) into our daily lives, or at least attempting to do it when we don’t forget. 

How was your week?  Be sure to visit the Weekly Wrap Up!

Stepping Back in Time

My kids are big fans of living history.  They love to be able to touch, feel and participate, not just look at relics from afar.  We are fortunate to live in an area that is rich in history and close to lots of great learning experiences.   Couple that with a free event at one of such said locations, and I am all over it!

So we traveled a wee bit and landed at the Frontier Culture Museum.  This was not our first trip, nor do I expect it to be our last.  In fact, I’m considering buying a year long family pass just so we can go hang out when we’re so inclined.

The newest exhibit, the West Africa Village, is not quite finished yet, but we were still able to tour it.  The folks at the FCM are very knowledgeable and eager to share that knowledge.  They gave us a brief lesson  (you can stay as long as you want at each facility) of the Igbo people, their house making, cultural and farming methods.  Since we started discussing slavery last week, this was a good way for the girls to get an understanding of where the slaves came from.

Below is the entryway to the compound.   The entire facility is hand (and foot) made, of clay just as it would be in West Africa.  There are even some authentic looking trees being planted around the perimeter.

Then we traveled on to the English farm.  The girls especially like this farm because of the sheep. Inside the home, they were both put to work working with the wool.

 

Here is the farm house and garden area.

  Then we were on our way to the Forge.  This young man was very knowledgeable and you could tell he liked to answer questions about his trade.

Then we were off to the Irish Farm…and the pigs.   Animals are a big hit with all kids, but the smell of pigs, in 90 degree weather, was enough to gross out even Olivia.

I’m really glad I didn’t have to sleep in this bed.  It couldn’t be a total of 5 foot long…most uncomfortable looking!

The German Farm is always fun!  Lots of activities to learn about, and touch and listen to.  I did not get the name of the musical instrument being played in this one photo, but it had a lovely sound to it!

     

We ran a little short on time, so we didn’t have a great deal of time to spend in the American Frontier.   There are three sections, America 1740’s, America 1820’s and 1850’s America.  The homes in the 1820 and 1850 locations are not reproductions, but real homes that were dismantled, shipped and rebuilt.

Here is a new addition (new to us anyway) a little one room schoolhouse. 

Great trip!  We’re planning on heading back over in September and focus more on the Americas!