Graduation Quilt 3.0

Just had to show off another creation.

I've collected t-shirts for each of them, and love getting to put them together into a special graduation gift.

Here's Noah's -

I love knowing they'll be wrapped up in it when they leave...

Hey, Mama! Homeschool Planner for 2019/20 Year from The Old Schoolhouse®: A TOS Crew Review

Hey, Mama! Homeschool Planner for 2019/20 Year from The Old Schoolhouse®

 Hey, Mama! Homeschool Planner for 2019/20 Year from The Old Schoolhouse®, written by Gena Suarez is one of my must have homeschool power tools!

Summer is a wonderful time to relax, unwind from the school year, and start to plan. The Hey, Mama! Homeschool Planner for 2019/20 Year  is part planner, part journal, and part personal encouragement for this journey. 

Gena is a homeschool veteran who talks directly to your mama's heart.  Each month begins with a devotional from her heart to yours.  Topics like joy, provision, perseverance and hope give you a burst of encouragement to begin the month.  Gena's practical advice is like having a mentor along with you,  field tips, squabbling kids, and naysayers, her tips are just what you need!

The planner is designed to get you organized, with monthly 2 page spreads. I love planners that begin in July!  This keeps my school year all in one place.

In addition, the weekly section is left blank, so you can customize.  I appreciate this.  I use this specifically to be my Co-op planner.  Instead of using the titles for "child", I use them for "class".  This works perfectly for me to see all of the classes I teach in one place.  

One of my favorite features of this planner, is the ability to use it like a journal as well. It has room for up to 5 children.  I just realized, with 3 graduated, I fit into this planner!  Sections are included so you can record specific things for each child.  A blank lined page you can journal on,  detailed curriculum planning section, attendance record, books read log, yearly goals, and semester goals.

I use my summer months to pray for these goals for each of my children.  We discuss them together and I love to be able to look back.

All of this AND this planner is beautiful!  The cover is a lovely floral design.  The pages are heavy quality paper.  It is sturdy enough to stand up to an entire year of use.  

You will want one of these, but you better hurry!  They are already 98% sold out!

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Life With Dog from Mill Creek Entertainment : A TOS Crew Review

Life With Dog from Mill Creek Entertainment

Life With Dog from Mill Creek Entertainment is a family friendly movie. We all cuddled up to watch together, one of my favorite ways to connect with my kiddos.

This movie is available at Walmart stores starting June 4, 2019, or online at Amazon.  When you purchase the DVD, you get a code from Mill Creek Entertainment that allows you to get instant digital access to your title, this gives you the ability to watch it on your other digital devices as well.

Mill Creek Entertainment offers a huge selection of contemporary and classic films and television series, documentary series and popular kids programming, as well as independent films, Latino cinema, early learning and fitness.

Life With Dog - "Hope comes in many forms", is it's tag line.  This 106 minute film is centered around Joe Bigler as he grieves the loss of his wife.   Wow - I  was caught right away, having just lost my husband two months ago.

Joe, played by Corbin Bernsen, is angry.  The film alternates his present reality with "conversations" from his deceased wife Alice, played by Marilu Henner.  It's a movie you need to pay attention to, as the story keeps developing and unfolding.

Joe has isolated himself, until a stray dog arrives and refuses to leave.  Joe's daughter, Zoey, played by Chelsey Crisp, introduces the faith aspect of this film.  She has had a rough time, with her husband leaving her alone to be a single parent.  She is worried about her father. She encourages him to remember what she and Alice believe. She brings her pastor to speak with Joe.

As Joe becomes more bitter and angry about Alice's death, we see him act on his emotions by threatening the bank and others of a conspiracy to murder Alice to try to take his home.  He wants to have someone to blame for Alice's death.

Through this, Dog, what Joe names the stray, stays with him.  Eventually,  we see Joe having the opportunity to confront the young man responsible for Alice's death.  By this point in the film, I was not sure what Joe would do.  He chooses to forgive, because of the influence of Alice and her faith.




All in all, we weren't that impressed with the film.  I would definitely NOT recommend it for your younger children because of the topics.  Since my children, who had just lost their father, were watching it as a family movie night - it did give us some important discussions on the different ways people grieve, and what types of behaviors are unacceptable, no matter how much your heart is hurting.

The quality of the film was excellent, technically.  Great actors, great acting.  I just felt that the story line was confusing, and the characters underdeveloped.  The dog was the least understood character, which is disappointing with a title like "Life with Dog". The ending left us asking, what really happened?

On the positive side, there are few films that can capture the attention of my pre-teens, teens and adults.  This movie did.


Find Mill Creek Entertainment on Social Media:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MillCreekEnt
Twitter: https://twitter.com/millcreekent
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/millcreekent

Hashtags: #hsreviews #MovieNight #ChristianMovies #FamilyMovie

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Abel's Island

I almost forgot... our final book for my favorite co-op literature class was Abel's Island by William Steig.

I LOVED teaching these sweet girls literature this year.  I focused on building a love for reading - page-by-page.  For them, it was all about increasing the amount they could read.  We read about 15 books, and some poetry.

All I had to do to win them over was add... a craft! 

For this book, we made our very own pet mouse rocks.  Abel is a stranded mouse.

It was so easy.  I found some rocks, they painted them.

Add some details like googly eyes, yarn tail and felt ears.

I'm going to miss these sweet faces every week!

Matthew Bentz

I wanted to share the video that our son made for Matt's memorial service.

Graduation 2019

He did it! 

Another Bentz Academy Graduate... only 5 more to go!

I won't lie...this one was HARD!  Getting on the stage alone to hand him his diploma without Matt.  The diploma was signed by Matt, a last minute decision on my part to grab it on the way to the hospital.  The last Bentz Academy graduate to have both of our signatures...  Matt's final wish, for me to continue to homeschool them, and get them all to college.  I'll do my best!

 I'm proud of his quilt!  I don't know how I pulled it together.  It was a form of therapy for me.  It has one of Matt's favorite t-shirts in it as well.  I really like how it turned out.

My collection (minus one, who is doing a summer internship). 

Typing Tournament Online & Maths Invaders Online from EdAlive: A TOS Crew Review

Typing Tournament Online & Maths Invaders Online from EdAlive

Summer learning should look like fun.  Typing Tournament Online & Maths Invaders Online from EdAlive is my new secret learning weapon! These two programs are really teaching math facts and typing skills, but shhhh...don't tell them, my children think they're playing computer games.  

EdAlive is an Australian company that creates software for kids that is both fun and educational. We were delighted to have access to both programs, all from a central library with the same login.  To get started, you create a parent login, and set up your students.  From this login, you can easily track their progress, in both programs. 

Typing Tournament Online is designed for students ages 6 and up.  It contains important typing skills instruction, and vital typing practice.  The 128 lessons have a medieval theme.  Your students progresses along a personalized map.  It's quite simple, learn the skills needed in the lesson to pass a skills/speed test, and you move on. Each lesson contains 3 typing drills designed to help you master the keyboard, and a test.  

The program teaches typing skills progressively, building lesson upon lesson.  If they need more practice, they repeat the lesson. There are several "games" they can play, all with the medieval theme.  My testers loved knowing what their WPM was.  Certificates are available to print out as a record of what they have done.

My tester LOVED this program.  She is in 4th grade and hasn't done much typing instruction.  This was the perfect introduction.  It's easy to use, and she asks to get to "play" every day.  I've already seen improvement in her typing skills!

  

Maths Invaders Online is great for students in K-10th grade.  This program contains skills practice for a huge variety of necessary math skills from addition to square roots and percentages!  There are several different ways the student can practice: Galactic Campaign, Space Rescue, Time Tables, and even printable worksheets.

My testers loved the Galactic Campaign - basically, they are answering math questions in order to stop the invaders.  Answer the question and "shoot" the invaders.  It's so fun, it's addictive!  I sat down to "show them how", but ended up hooked myself.  They had to beg me for their turn :-)  They can choose to play at different speeds: basic, expert or master, so you can really focus on improving their math fact recall and speed.  

Space Rescue is a game they can play.  They can choose to compete against themselves, other players online, or against the computer.  Answering math questions allows them to arm their weapon to take aim at the target.

In addition, you can practice those important times tables.  Either online, or you can print out customized worksheets as well.

Overall, these two programs were easy-to-use, and fun.  I'm sure that they'll spend many more hours practicing  math and typing skills, but thinking they're playing games!  It's a win for me, and for them.

Find EdAlive  on Social Media:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EdAlive/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/edalive

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com.au/edalive/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/edalive.education/

Hashtags: #hsreviews #onlinetypingtutor #typingtutor #onlinemathpractice #mathpractice

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