History should taste GOOD!

I get to teach HISTORY!  I love HISTORY - especially when it's yummy!

We are traveling back to the beginning this year with Ancient History (and a combination of Mystery of History - Vol. 1 and Tapestry of Grace - Year 1).

For our Co-op class - we were discussing the 10 Plagues.  What better way to make them memorable than with candy and treats...

Here's what I came up with (sorry for any fuzzy pictures...I was just too sugared up...)

Did you know...each of the plagues took on an Egyptian God, and showed our God is Greater?

 Blood - Red Gatorade       Frogs - Mint M & M's 

Lice - shredded coconut     Flies - black licorice

Disease on Cattle - animal crackers    Boils - Captain Crunch

Hail & Fire - marshmallows and red hots    Grasshoppers - Andes mints (grasshoppers...get it?)

Darkness - Dove chocolate    Death of Firstborn - Sour Patch Kids 

Pretty creative, if I must say so myself!  

Language Smarts™ Level E from The Critical Thinking Co.™: A Homeschool Crew Review

Language Smarts™ Level E from The Critical Thinking Co.™

Language Arts always leaves me questioning, "What's Missing?"  Well, not anymore! Language Smarts™ Level E from The Critical Thinking Co.™ is making sure we are covering all areas! This full curriculum comes in a colorful, 392 page softcover book.  The level we received is for Grade 4.  It is available in levels B-F (grades 1-4).  It contains 258 assignments - about 2 lessons a day for a full year of language arts, all in one place!  This curriculum is very comprehensive, it includes a  wide variety of content area, including:

Level E (Grade 4) Content

• Capitalization	• Prefixes, Suffixes, Roots
• Critical Thinking	• Silent E
• Compare/Contrast	• Singular/Plural
• Imply/Infer	• Syllables
• Inference	• Usage
• Opinion	• Homographs
• Prediction	• Homophones
• Adjectives	• Metaphors
• Adverbs	• Sequencing
• Antonyms	• Similes
• Conjunctions	• Writing
• Interjections	• Characters
• Nouns	• Comparing
• Prepositions	• Conflict
• Pronouns	• Context Clues
• Sentences	• Drama
• Subject and Predicate	• Editing
• Subject-Verb Agreement	• Fiction and Nonfiction
• Synonyms	• Idioms
• Verbs	• Parts of a Book
• Grammar	• Plot
• Punctuation	• Poems
• Colons	• Proverbs
• Commas	• Reference Materials
• Exclamation Marks	• Setting
• Periods	• Story Maps
• Question Marks	• Table of Contents
• Quotation Marks	• Titles
• Semicolons	• Topic and Main Idea
• Spelling	• Using a Dictionary
• Compound Words

 My tester is actually in third grade right now but, this was a perfect fit for her.  Right off, I added some colored tabs to our book for each section.  This way, my tester can work on a variety of exercises by doing a lesson in each of two sections each day.

I really like the wide variety of exercises.  Word Searches, Crossword Puzzles, and fill in the blanks.  The color is very helpful for my daughter.  It highlights directions, word banks, etc. and makes it a visually appealing program too.

 Language Smarts™ Level E  contains exercises from The Critical Thinking Co.™ popular series - Editor in Chief and Writing Detective (both programs we use!)  These exercises focus on getting the student's to analyze what they are reading and spot errors.  My tester loved the reading selections. 

The writing section walks the student through the complete writing process - from pre-writing (with graphic organizers) to editing and publishing.  

This is a very easy-to-use and comprehensive language arts curriculum - the parent doesn't need to prepare anything, and the answers are all included in the back of the book, so you don't need to buy a teacher guide.

What a find! We have found that using The Critical Thinking Co.™ curriculum has helped our children be well-prepared for any standardized testing, and it's fun too!   Check out the sample pages and see for yourself!

Be sure to check out some of their Software the Crew is reviewing as well... makes me wish I had another Preschooler (almost!)   "Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic Before Kindergarten!™" program  and the "Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic Before Kindergarten!™"   If you need help with Sentence Diagramming: Beginning is for grades 3-12.  

Find The Critical Thinking Co.™ on Social Media:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Critical-Thinking-Co/46128092293

Google+: https://plus.google.com/114500823774999703181

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/source/criticalthinking.com/

Hashtags: #hsreviews #criticalthinking #languagearts

See what other members of the Crew thought here

Art Field Trip

We love the San Antonio Museum of Art - and the FREE programs they offer to homeschool students!

They get to see art close up, learn from experts - and make art themselves.  What a wonderful way to learn.  We are studying Ancient history this year, so the Egyptian Tour was right up our alley... even if it was the first field trip with only HALF of my children...sniff, sniff.

But First, the "traditional" family photos...

They get this behavior from my husband's side...

They started by looking for and sketching symbols they saw in the exhibit.

They were excited to meet Sekhmet - an Egyptian goddess in their historical literature!

After a fabulous teaching time on the artifacts, they get to head to the classroom for the project.

Hieroglyphics on papyrus!  So cool - it completely cements the learning in an unforgettable way!  

This museum is a TREASURE - make sure you take your kiddos as often as you can!

Christmas Comes to America from Homeschool Legacy: A Homeschool Crew Review

Christmas Comes to America   from Homeschool Legacy The holiday season is right around the corner, and that means it's time for a break from "regular school" and time for UNIT STUDY at Bentz Test Laboratory.  This year, our focus is Christmas Comes to America   from Homeschool Legacy.   This study is one of the "Once-a-Week" unit studies.  These  2nd grade-12th grade studies are Biblically centered, noprep (perfect for the all ready packed holdiay season!), easy to incorporate into your current study, cross curricular studies that you spend one day a week with. The study also contains information for Boy Scout and American Heritage Girls badges (we don't do these, but it is a nice feature) Each study includes:

• BIBLE
• QUALITY LITERATURE
• LANGUAGE
• HISTORY
• SCIENCE
• GEOGRAPHY
• RESEARCH
• ARTS & CRAFTS
• ART APPRECIATION
• MUSIC APPRECIATION
• LIFE SKILLS
• FIELD TRIP SUGGESTIONS
• FAMILY GAME & MOVIE NIGHTS

I love that the entire family can be learning together!

Christmas Comes to America   is a 45 page, downloadable PDF.  It's focus is on 4 weeks of learning about Christmas traditions that came to America from other countries. 

• Week 1: The Dutch
• Week 2: The English
• Week 3: The Germans
• Week 4: An American Christmas

Extra Activities include: 

• A list of suggested Read Alouds and Videos
• An “After Christmas Tree for the Birds”
• Christmas Trivia Game
• More Christmas Ideas

Each weekly lesson can be done in one sitting, or spread out.  You can combine this unit study with what you are already doing, or just use it as a refreshing break.  Unit studies are our favorite way to learn!

Each week includes a variety of activities to choose from.  You  DO NOT have to do them all! Simply pick and choose the ones that have the most interest to you and your family. 

One of our favorite ideas was making wassail and hosting a party for our neighbors.  Since we are doing this study now, we are already booking dates in December with our neighbors. (December calendars fill up quickly) Starting a Christmas study now has given us a jump start on holiday cheer. So many great ideas are included, and by starting early - you will have a chance to use them 

Each week contains interesting facts about Christmas traditions, where they came from, and how they are celebrated.  Did you know Christmas was once outlawed in America?  We didn't either!

My testers favorite activity was the "After Christmas Tree for the Birds" - they are planning all the goodies they can use to decorate a tree in the yard as a special treat for our feathered friends... cranberries, popcorn, oranges, peanut butter.  Then, we are going to participate in the Audubon Society’s Christmas Bird Count.

The Christmas Trivia is perfect for your Co-op or Small group activity.  We stumped dad with many of them!

I love how easy Homeschool Legacy makes unit study learning.  All you need to do is download, and take a trip to the library.  I promise... you and your family are going to love it!

Be sure to check out the other studies the Crew has been reviewing:

• Pirates or Privateers: You Decide 
• Cooking up History with the Founding Presidents
• Victoria and Her World
• Thanksgiving with the Pilgrims  
• Many Nations

Find Homeschool Legacy on Facebook 

Hashtags: #hsreviews #unitstudies #historyunitstudies 

See what other Members of the Crew thought here

Family Plan from Accountable2You: A Homeschool Crew Review

Family Plan from Accountable2You Let's face it, the internet - with all the good and bad, is part of our daily lives.  Even our children's lives.  We have been exploring the Family Plan from Accountable2You for the past month.  Accountable2You is NOT a filtering program, but rather offers you an extra pair of eyes, so to speak.  The Family Plan gives you the option to download it to twenty devices and it works with multiple family members, including those who don't live at your address.  It is a quick download for your computer, or an app for your mobile device.  It works on both IOS and Android devices. 

In addition, Accountable2You offers other plan options including the Individual Plan (up to 6 devices), Group Plan (great for a homeschool group or a youth group), and the Small Business Plan (for your own buisness). It's easy to set up your account, and you can also create accounts for family members.  We focused on my husband's iPhone (thanks for setting a good example!), our family iPad and my laptop.  Once accounts are created, you determine your accountability partner.  This person receives a daily email of your usage. 

I really like all the features you can customize.  You can set time limits, activate GPS tracking and screen for objectionable words that you select.  You can easily see the usage in the Reports - even with a graph of hours and programs used.  On my husband's phone, it just shows the AU App usage, you do have to disable Safari - and use the App to log activity.  It cannot monitor all app usage on the iPhone.

On my laptop, the Reports break it down to the program usage.  One thing I didn't like was that the Operating System usage appears as well.  The chart on the bottom lets you see when the device is being used, and you can set time limits for your children, or be alerted if the device is being used after specific hours.

The daily emails sent to the accountability partner allow you to see what sites have been accessed.  This was an eye-opener to how much "surfing" and mindless time we have been spending on our devices!  We have had great family discussions on just how much time we spend online, and what we are missing.  Accountable2You has been a great tool!

Overall, the concept of having someone watching over your activity is WAY better than installing filters that diminish your computer's ability.  Personally, I would rather teach my family about monitoring themselves now and maintaining accountability than hope that that when unfiltered internet is available, they will be responsible.  Eventually, we all encounter the ability to do use the internet in ways that are not healthy.  Accountable2You helps you teach them early responsibility.

I highly recommend this easy-to-use program.  Our devices worked perfectly with it installed.  It gave us tools and information to keep our family safe online, and teach good habits. Find Accountable2You on Social Media:
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/accountable2you
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/accountable2youllc

Hashtags:  #hsreviews #internetaccountability #internetsafety See what other members of the Crew thought here

Our FIRST - First Friday Friends

After waiting, and wanting to start a "First Friday Friends" group for the past couple of years... I finally got it launched.  (Believe it or not...I wasn't sure if anyone would want to join me)

Our group kicked off with 9 families represented by 17 girls (ages 7-16).  It was an instant blessing!

We use the Leader Guide and Girl Guide.  This is a fabulous product - it contains everything you need to host, plan and inspire your group.  NO - this is not a sponsored review, I just LOVE this so much I had to share.

We started the night off with a fun Get-to-know each other game.  Then we cuddled up in my small music room and read a story that corresponds to our monthly theme.  This month was "A Heart of Friendship", all about choosing good friends and being a good friend.

For our craft activity, we made friendship bracelets.  My daughters had an absolutely wonderful time getting a chance to be creative with friend.  Our bracelets were simple with colored beads, a cross charm and hemp cording.  (and inexpensive too).

The night ended with plenty of snacks, giggles and "girl time".  New friendships were born :-)

 

Moms and daughters can continue with the Girl Time book and spend some quality time together during the month too.  

 

My house and heart were full - and we are already looking forward to next month!