High School Must Reads

So we have talked about our little kid books as well as our middle school favorites and now is the time for some high school must-reads in our family.  I want to start by sharing each of my girls' favorite books and then share a few series that they love.

Keep in mind this is a pleasure reading list.  Our kids have pretty intense reading lists for 9th-12th grade and there you will find all the "classics," from A Scarlet Letter to To Kill a Mockingbird.  And some of those they even enjoyed!  But this list - just think curled up in a hammock or by a fire reading for just the fun and pleasure of it!

The 20 year old's favorite book is by far The Hiding Place.  Don't ask me why, and yes, it was on her required reading list.  I think it is a sad book.  She thinks it is convicting and is worth reading several times a year.  Seriously.

The 16 year old's favorite book is actually on our middle school list, Surviving the Applewhites, and she does not care who knows it.  She too reads this one over and over again.  When I made her pick a more "mature" book, she begrudgingly said any of the series below.

Some other favorites include:

Sherlock Holmes - This is also another favorite of my oldest.  Who doesn't like a good mystery?

The Inkheart Series - For a slightly more mature audience (it does contain some mild language), this series is one of the 16 year old's favorite.  She loves fantasy, but if that bothers you, let this one go. (Ashton does not like this series)

The Percy Jackson series -  Yes, this contains lots of mythology so be forewarned.  I feel at this older age, my kids are able to discern between fact and fiction, filtering books through their Christian worldview, but I know not everyone agrees with that philosophy.  Again, just be forewarned if mythology concerns you this is not the series for you.

Lord of the Rings series - I know many kids have seen the movies, but have they read the books?  If not, now is a good time to get started.  I would say the same thing about the Chronicles of Narnia series.

Let me also add two books that I think are must reads for every highschooler from a mom and teacher point of view, High School Prep Genius and Victus Study Skills.

We found High School Prep Genius as a review and I highly recommend it to anyone who is thinking about  going to college.  It covers a lot of information in a quick and easy style.  I figure as long as our teens are filling their days with reading, they should at least cover a few that are "real world" application books.

Victus Study Skills was also a review item that I loved.  While you will need to get the student workbook in addition to the guide, I assure you it is worth it.  Both my 12 year old and 16 year old learned a lot about themselves and their study habits as well as ways to improve those habits.  As they get older, those skills will be needed more and more so now is a good chance to slip in that information.

Beginning on Wednesday, fellow Crew members are sharing their favorite high school reading lists, so make sure you come back to follow the link to the carnival.  I always add to our list after reading someone else's!

Blessings,

 

K is for Keeping the Farm

We are back for another week of Blogging Through the Alphabet with my friend, Marcy at Ben and Me!  If you have not popped over to check out the others who are on this journey with us, I would love to encourage you to do so.  There you will find word studies, favorite books, women of the Bible, animals and more.  Each week, I love reading what others have picked for their letter topic!

This week is K and was a no brainer for me!

Yep, we got to "keep" the farm for our friends while they went on a mini vacation.  You may have read about said friends in our butchering the cow post or the butchering chickens post.  Can you believe that in a few months we will even get to share with you about butchering a pig?  But even more than that- can you even believe that they trusted us enough to leave the farm in our care for a few days?

It was so fun.  It was actually the most relaxing thing I have done all summer.  Seriously.

Now, let it be said, I know it is not always fun for them.  Or any farmer.  When it is your land, your garden, and your animals, it can be a lot more stress and most certainly a lot more responsibility.

But when you are just keeping the farm, pretending it is yours for a few days, well, it is kind of like watching Little House on the Prairie.  You can hum the tune and pretend.  Not that I did that or anything ;)

First, the chickens.  A few in this batch are destined to become dinner for someone, but most are their layers.  Yep, fresh eggs.  How cool is that?  Of course, someone needs to tell those chickens it is time to get laying.  Just saying.

Because Farmer Dan built those spoiled chickens a really cool coop, there was not much for us to do.  They can go out and roam the farm all day and get safely shut inside at night due a motorized, automatic door, so they are not going to go hungry when the family  is away  We just made sure their water was full and clean and fed the smaller chicks that have not earned the privilege of being outside yet.  Don't know if you can really tell from the pictures (those things will not stand still and pose!) but the newest set of chicks are fancy dancy.  A few have cute tufts of hair on their heads and make me want to just name them all and snuggle with them.

Next the cows.  Have I mentioned before that these cows are not just your ordinary cows?  They look like big 'ole teddy bears.  I am pretty sure they would not want you to cuddle with them, but I sure would like to try!

 Again, they are in the pasture and do not need babysitting, but we needed to keep an eye on them anyway.  One, they have been know to let themselves out of their own field and wander.  Of course, not sure what I was going to do if that had happened on my watch!  While they may know Farmer Dan and follow him around, I am pretty sure they not only do not know me, but could care less about following me around.  My youngest, well, that may have been the ticket.  He fed them and they were his new best friends.  It was actually comical.  The second time we went, they about fell over each other to get back to the barn where he was.  His comment- "they like me best, Mom!"  Yes, yes, they do.

And the second reason for watching them-  three of the cows were pregnant and due to give birth at anytime.  We were assured that they would give birth at night without any need of us (good thing) but we should keep our eyes out  "just in case".  hmmmmmm, let's just say I may have prayed for NO "just in cases"  My only consolation prize  would be we could name a baby if it was born on our watch.  And guess what...those darn cows waited until the night our friends came home to give birth.  I kid you not.  They are not my favorites anymore.  The cows, not our friends!  For the record, the baby was born on the 4th so his name would have been Patriot, or Cuatro or Independence, or something really cool.  Now, he can be Dinner for all I care. ;)

See him? Not, even one day old!

And then there was the garden.  My dream garden.  I could just go stand right in the middle of it and sing a song.  Of course, I have not planted, weeded and watered it, nor sweated it out every time there was bad weather.

Again, the "keeping the farm" is a much easier job than owning the farm.  Instead, I got to harvest a few extras that would not make it long enough to keep them for their owners.

Like cabbage,

 And broccoli,

Some spinach,

and the most beautiful purple cauliflower I have ever seen.  Did you even know it came in that color?  For the record (so you will not be disappointed) it still tastes exactly the same.  Some nameless folks in my family were hoping the pretty purple had changed the original taste.  Nope!

Once cooked it turns deep purple!

Oh, and there is a pool to swim in, which we did not.  Either the wind was blowing hard enough to carry off little people or the temps were too cool, but I did learn how to test the PH and chlorine levels.  Let's just say I am not very good at it and it just may have made me reconsider the pool option at our next location.  If there was ever a pool option ;)

So pool, maybe not, but farm- YES, I still want one.  Even if I have to do more than babysit it!

Thank you to Farmer Dan and his beautiful family for entrusting us with your place and giving us the opportunity to live our dream for a few days.  It was a joy!

Blessings,

 

Also linking up with Jenna at Called Home!

Adding on! 52 weeks of family scripture memorization

I apologize for the late post for our scripture memorization.  I did not forget you, life has just been crazy busy around here.  That being said, I hope that none of us get too busy to continue to hide God's word in our hearts.  It is important to God and it should be important to us.

That being said, this week we are adding the next verse of Phil. 4.  This may be the week that things get a little harder.  May I encourage you to keep pressing on?  I know we can all do this!  Anything worth doing is worth taking the time to do!  And that is what it takes- time!

Here we go-

When do you make time for scripture memorization?  For us, it is much easier in the fall and winter to find time when we are on a "normal" school schedule.  We have Bible lessons each morning to begin our day, so it is a perfect opportunity to work on verses.  During the school year our youngest is in a church Bible program as well, and so we practice additional verses daily for him.  But in the summer- well, you know, things are just more relaxed and unscheduled and verses just seem to get pushed to the end of  the day.  And past.

One way I want to try to combat that issue is to work on verses during our family time each night.  Since we are gathered together anyway, and actually reading the Bible as well, it is the perfect time to say our verse for the week.  Let's face it, anything we do is more fun when we do it as a team.  Plus, with us adding motions to this particular set of verses, family time is the perfect time to be able to work together to decide what motions we want to us.

Now, if I can just get them to agree to let me take a video of them for you! ;)

How about you?  When does your family work on scripture memory work?  We would love to know!

If you have not yet had a chance to check out Scripture Talk, I encourage you to do so.  It is a beautiful DVD that will help you and your children learn God's word together, by using creative motions.  Our current verse set, as well as 9 others are included, along with a mini lesson for each.  You will be blessed!

See 'ya back next week!

Blessings,

Experience History Through Music

If you have been popping in and out of here for the last few weeks or been to our FB page, you have surely seen by now that I have mentioned a new product release, Experiencing History Through Music.  I have had the privilege of being part of the launch team for this set of three books and accompanying music CDs and want to take a minute to tell you about them.  Not a homeschooler?  Not a problem. These gems will bless any home, I promise!

Diana Waring, the mastermind behind Experience History Through Music, followed her heart, teamed up with some other great folks, and put together the three books in this history series.  Each book has a series of stories telling the background of the songs.  These stories are full of great historical facts and fun stories as well as pictures.  As a bonus, in the back of each book is the basic sheet music for all of the songs.  Love music?  Be ready to have some great sing along fun!  Love history?  You will discover the backstories to many old favorites and some new-to-you songs as well.  Want to beef up and add a little excitement to your history studies?  These books are a great addition to your current history studies or would make great unit studies as well.  The possibilities are endless.  Our family has just had fun listening to the songs, on quite a regular basis I must say, and then reading the stories about them during family time and on our own.

 This is what Diana had to say in a recent interview-

"Are these Experience History Through Music products to be used as curriculum?  Is there a schedule to follow?

Though students can experience American history through these three books and CDs (and have a lot of fun in the process), it is not an actual curriculum. They are supplementary materials that can be enjoyed by anyone.  There is no specific schedule to follow, no tests to take. You might describe it as a sort of "stealth academics," meaning that your kids will be having so much fun singing the songs, they won't even realize they are learning.  But YOU will."

Western Ho! The Heart of the Old West, is a collection of stories about pioneers and their lives around the campfire. With songs like Home on the Range and Chisholm Trail, you will be transported back into a time of cowboys and adventure.  The boys, in particular, loved this one.  What boy doesn't at some point dream of riding a horse and rounding up bandits!

America The Beautiful is a patriotic collection that every school age child should hear. I remember learning  many of these songs in music class back in elementary school, before music was taken away due to lack of funds.  How sad that a new generation is not as familiar and in some cases has not even heard of songs like Yankee Doodle, Old Dan Tucker and Oh Susanna.

Musical Memories of Laura Ingalls Wilder is indeed our family's favorite.  We have read all of the Little House books and have recently begun re-watching the TV series as a family, so we were especially excited about reading the stories that accompanied each of the songs in this set.  I could just close my eyes and imagine Pa pulling out his fiddle and singing to his family.  Wait for the Wagon was my youngest son's favorite, but the girls and I especially liked In the Sweet By and By.  Just watching the girls gather around the piano to play and sing together makes these books a favorite.

Want a peek?


In The Sweet By and By from Ashton Pleasants on Vimeo.


Each book and CD set can be purchased separately for $18.99, or in the month of July, Diana is offering them as a set for $50.00!

There is also time to enter Diana's big giveaway valued at over $700, in addition to my own giveaway in which Diana is blessing one reader with her Homeschool Encouragement pack.  Quick, they are both almost over!

Veritas Press Self Paced History- TOS Crew Review

Veritas Press is a leading company in the homeschool community.  Known for their classical approach and strong grade leveled curriculum packages, Veritas Press has long been one of our favorite companies.  Then I heard about Veritas Press Self Paced History and I admit I did a good deal of coveting.  All it took was watching a friends' child go through a lesson to make me want to use it for this coming year!  On to the wish list it went!

I cannot tell you then how excited we were to see Veritas Press on our TOS Vendor list and be given the privilege to review Veritas Press Self Paced History- Old Testament and Ancient Egypt- covering Creation and ending with the fall of Rome.  Veritas Press Self Paced History is an online program designed to teach History with a classical Christian approach.  Each of the five classes offered covers 160 lessons and 32 historical events. With the help of the accompanying flashcards, in our case Old Testament and Ancient Egypt Flashcards, your child will learn timelines, dates, names, and important facts from the period you choose to study.

Option include:

• Old Testament and Ancient Egypt
• New Testament, Greece and Rome
• Middle Ages, Renaissance and Reformation
• Explorers to 1815, and
• 1815 to present.

The self paced history program is recommended for 2nd-6th graders and is, in my opinion, a perfect way to begin to teach history, starting at the very beginning, which is where we started!

After a quick sign in and creating of accounts you are ready to begin with lesson one!
Each time you sign in you are brought to a screen that says "Launch Lesson."  With a push of that button you are whisked away into a world other than your current one.  For us, Ancient Egypt!  Complete with a talking Sphinx and his co-narrator, Simeon.

Those two characters, with the help of Simeon's wife, take you through a series of slides that then introduce you to the topic of the day and teach you the lesson.  Sometimes the slides automatically advance and others you have to click next to advance.  Lessons vary in the number of slides, from just a few on test days to 20 or more on heavy, information-packed days.  Plan on at least 30-45 minutes on an average day.

Information is introduced by way of the timeline cards, each card being studied for 5 days.  Here's how it works:

Day 1:
 Almost every day is begun with the singing of a theme song that recites all 32 cards.  Yep, ALL!  Through the course of the year your child will learn all 32 history events they are studying in order!  So you sing the song first as a review.  Next the host, again in our case, Simeon, introduces the flashcard and the facts on it.  Throughout the lesson he will ask questions about what he is teaching and your child will have the opportunity to answer those questions by choosing the correct answer.  If a more complicated word is used, it is flashed on the screen at that time so the child can 1. see that it is important, and 2. how to spell it.  Examples would be lifespan, covenant, genealogy.  Beginning in later lessons, your child will have to spell a few of those words back to be able to proceed.  Both the front and back of the card are covered on day 1.  In addition to questions throughout the lesson, occasionally a "game" is played.  I use the word game lightly.  Think trivia instead.  An example is above in the bottom right picture of the collage where your child had to answer the question to score points.  Sometimes it may be getting your person to beat the computer person, but it always in the form of trivia from the lesson. An online worksheet is then completed to review what you have learned so far.  Once you complete the worksheet you have the option to review it, print it out, or continue on to the next lesson.

Day 2:
Sing the song!  Then there is review of the card again and often a lot of the scripture is read at this point if there is any attached to the event.  Note that the flashcards are color coded.  In this case the blue indicates the card set while the purple indicates that the information presented is found in the Bible.  Activities are again used for review.

 Day 3:
Sing the song!  Play another game to review.  More reading of scripture and teaching of the event on the card.  Occasionally a fun project is introduced such as build an ark or color in a picture.  In that case, any needed extras and instructions are available to print out.

Day 4:
You guessed it, sing the song again!  More activities are done and as well as games.  On this day, a map and timeline are introduced as well.  Each card that you learn is put on a timeline and points of interest are labeled on corresponding maps.  The child pushes a button to "place a medallion" on the timeline for each card, again keeping them heavily involved.  The timeline is interactive, so once the new card is on it, your child can go back and review any previous cards.

Day 5:
Test day!  Each test contains questions about the event you just studied as well as review questions from previous events.  Again, you will have the option to review your questions, print them or move on to the next lesson.  Scores are kept for you as well as a running course grade.

At the end of several of the days there is an additional reading suggestion at both level one and level two, to further expand the lesson.  If you choose to do so, the books that they suggest are listed for you to read from.

And what is next?  Next card and repeat!

What we think:

• Remember that theme song I mentioned?  Hang on to your hat.  The first few days of singing this song absolutely lost me.  It is fast paced and not to a familiar tune.  I remember telling a friend that I was never going to learn this song.  Now, after over 30 lessons, I only stumble a little and my 7 year old sings it like a pro.  Trust me, after singing it every day you WILL learn it.  And it will get stuck in your head!  They do give you a break after the first few days and start singing just the first 16 events until you have time to catch on more.
• By sprinkling questions, games and other activities throughout each lesson, there is no time to be bored.  This is NOT just a sit and listen to a lecture program.  It is, in fact, very heavy in student participation, allowing hands-on kids to be involved and moving and not allowing for times of boredom.  This was HUGE for us.  Mr. wiggle pants did not have time to wiggle.
• The spelling activities were a challenge for us.  Since CJ is a new 7 year-old we are deep in the throes of learning spelling.  Being asked to spell "genealogy" by himself was rather hard and is one thing that I wish was absent from the program.  So far, that is the only thing I have not been overjoyed about, honestly.  It is the one thing that hangs us up when he wants to do the program independently.  Lucky for us, I have not wanted to miss the lessons myself so I have been with him to help him spell some of the harder words.
• Automatic grading is a huge blessing for a teacher who does not do much grading around here.  It can also be a curse if one is not careful.  While you do have the option of retaking a test, as well as repeating any previous lesson, first test grades do stand, so if a child does poorly the first time, that is the grade they will see.  This was not an issue for my 2nd grader, but I do know that it could bother kids who were more in tune with the idea of testing and grades.
• A teacher account can also be viewed that shows what assignments and tests have been completed.  A report card can also be printed from this page.
• The flashcards are amazing quality!  Full color pictures and maps make them a joy to use and  they are printed on heavy duty cardstock material.  We have seen some people laminate them, but we decided to buy a mini binder to keep them in.  When Colby practices putting them in order, he can simply slip them out of the sleeves to use and then put them back.
• We used Veritas daily!  Sometimes Colby begged to do more than one lesson a day.  A 7 year old ASKING to do school...if that is not a stamp of approval, I don't know what is!

A few words of caution:

• If you intend to have your child begin this program and do so independently, they need to be pretty strong readers.  This is not a Dick and Jane reading level and while many things are learned by way of "lecture," there is a lot of reading involved with the worksheets, trivia, and tests.
• The word idiot was used in one of our most recent lessons.  While it is not a show stopper for us, I could have done without it.  We made sure that we had a discussion about how it was name that we used in our house.
• There is a lot of jesting between the main characters.  While usually it is cute and funny, once or twice I have felt like it bordered on too much.  Again, I am using this program with a 7 year old and therefore may just be super sensitive to those kinds of things.  The program and information itself is top notch, I just want you to be aware that humor is used frequently.

Costs:
Veritas Press Self Paced History- Old testament and Ancient Egypt  costs $199.00.  From the time you begin the class, you have one year to complete it.

Old Testament and Ancient Egypt Flashcards $19.95

I have to tell you, this IS our new favorite history program for 2nd-6th grade!  While I realize it may seem costly to some, I would challenge you to add up all the costs of your current program and compare.  My guess is you would be surprised at how comparable it is.  It is worth every cent to us, and we look forward to continuing to learn history with Veritas Press!

Sample cards, front and back:

You can find Veritas Press at the following places-
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/veritaspress
Twitter -- https://twitter.com/veritaspress
Pinterest –  http://www.pinterest.com/source/veritaspress.com/
Google+ -- https://plus.google.com/100404634762414542020/about

Fellow Crew members reviewed several other time periods within the self paced history program as well as the high school Omnibus program and you can view reviews of both by clicking on the Schoolhouse Review Crew button!