Wednesday, October 16, 2019

UMHB - Family Weekend 2019


I love Family Weekend at UMHB! 

Getting to see my college boys thriving in a wonderful environment really blesses my heart every time. It feels like home.


Having the entire crew together is the best!  My favorite moment wasn't captured on film (being present!) they were all playing football in the rec field under the stars.  I could have listened to them giggle and watch them chase each other down, all night long. 


College Freshman - doing great finding his path - and helping me take a good selfie... I'm notoriously bad at selfies, you'll see...


College Sophomore (and first example of my selfie taking skills)- he's really rocking the college life now.  So proud of him!



 College SENIOR - what?  how did that happen...it's my last family weekend??  Don't blink, you'll miss it!!



 This one isn't leaving anytime soon...but, she loves Family Weekend for big brothers and cheerleaders!



My "mini me"
This one...next to go... sniff, sniff... I can't even!

ATTENTION Moms - Make sure to treasure every one of these precious moments with them!  They go by to fast...

Fun Family Chess from Brain Blox: A TOS Crew Review

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We are enjoying  our new game Fun Family Chess from Brain Blox, Learning to play the "game of kings" has never been so easy!

Designed for ages 5 and up, Fun Family Chess is a color-coded, learn as you play game.  It comes in a sturdy, well-designed wooden box and includes:
  • Folding Wooden Chess Board
  • 32 Wooden Chess Pieces in a Soft Pouch
  • Full Color Chess Book
  • 2 Reference Cards
  • Chess Cube




The game is designed for 2 players, but you could easily turn this into a family game by creating teams to play. 

There are 2 ways of playing.  Regular chess, and Fun Family Chess.  Check out this video to see:


The main difference is the "chess cube" - a handy die that gives the player color coded instructions for how to move each piece.  What a simple, yet effective tool!  The reference card provides a color-coded map to use while playing.  I'm pretty sure they designed these with me in mind...  





One of the things we loved about this game was all the easy to follow instructions and helpful Youtube videos - some of us learn better by watching!  From learning how to set up the board and play, to detailed instructions on how to move each piece the videos made it easy for even my beginner players.  The videos are well-done, and funny too.



The quality of this set really stands out as well.  The board, doubles as a wooden storage case is designed to stand up to real family use.  I hate games that can't take the wear and tear of real play, don't you?  The chess pieces are wood, with velvet bags to store them in.  



With 8 children, we have a wide variety of skill levels when it comes to playing games. Fun Family Chess made it easy for my younger children to learn and develop the confidence to play with some of their older siblings. 



There's another fun bonus too - you get a Free 2 month gold membership to ChessKid.com - so you can continue developing your chess skills in a fun, safe online environment.



Brain Blox is a family-owned company with the mission "to empower families to be more conscious & intentional with one another... through meaningful playI couldn't agree more!

 Check out  Fun Family Chess on Amazon here - this would make a great Christmas gift!


Fun Family Chess {Brain Blox Reviews}Find Brain Blox on Social Media:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mybrainblox
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brainblox
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpUttakNtthj_haX8LwRlwA

Hashtags:  #hsreviews #FunFamilyChess






Fun Family Chess {Brain Blox Reviews}

Crew Disclaimer

Tuesday, October 8, 2019

Progeny Press Study Guides: A TOS Crew Review




Little House on the Prairie Study Guide & Hound of the Baskervilles Study Guide from Progeny Press


We have been long time fans of Progeny Press and their Interactive Study Guides!  Check out our past reviews from 2016 - 2017- 2018.  One of the things I most admire is the wide variety of selections for ALL grades.  This year we are focusing on Little House on the Prairie Study Guide & Hound of the Baskervilles Study Guide.

Let me start with Little House on the Prairie Study Guide &amp - designed for grades 4-6, is a 60 page downloadable PDF.  You can choose to print it out (like we always do) or use the handy fillable fields in the PDF that allow your student to type directly into the guide.



Each Progeny Press guide is designed to follow the same basic outline, a very handy feature when you are using them with multiple ages. Progeny Press has a wide selection of for every level - from elementary to high school.

A short Synopsis, About the Author, and Background Information will help you introduce the literature to your student.  Fun Pre-Reading Activities help set the stage as well.



The main focus of the guide is written directly to the student, and works through the book chapter by chapter.  Each guide is designed to take approx. 5-10 weeks to complete, depending on the pace of your student.

The Little House on the Prairie Study Guide introduces vocabulary with a variety of exercises - fill-in-the-blank, crosswords, dictionary skills, and more.  We love that the exercises are different and lively.




Students are encouraged to Think About The Story - this section frequently introduces literary terms , and examples from the reading included to help the student understand in context. Similies, personification, alliteration, consonance are just a few.


Questions are designed to help your student's understand what they are reading.  Dig Deeper questions really encourage your student to draw conclusions and make connections to Scripture.  We love to do these questions out loud together!

Optional Projects and Activities are included.  These are designed to bring the learning off the page with things like cooking (cornbread and molasses milk were our favorites), arts & crafts (we loved using our Lincoln logs to make our own cabins), music , storytelling, science and creative writing.  There are so many to choose from that you are sure to find something to catch your student's interest!

A full answer key is included as well.

Hound of the Baskervilles Study Guide is an 83 page downloadable PDF with fillable pages for grades 8-12.  This exciting story is sure to be a hit with your older children.


The guide follows the same basic structure.  Each high school level guide is intended to earn 1/4 credit - so by completing 4 guides in one year a student can earn a full high school literature credit.

Vocabulary, logical thinking, comprehension questions and literary analysis are included for each lesson. Students learn the literary terms, and how to recognize the author's intent  - terms like irony, poetic justice, pathetic fallacy, hubris are just a few covered.

Digging Deeper questions help your students make connections to real life and to scripture. I love that moral lessons are included, literature has great power to teach important lessons to our teens, without being "preachy".  Several topics covered in this book include - suffering, spiritual battle, and responsibility.

Optional Activities provide plenty of suggestions for incorporating the learning across subjects - including science, art, history and more.  There are suggestions for every learning style - from writing research papers to building 3D architectural models.



The high school level guides include optional essays and projects your student can work through - from writing an original mystery story themselves to researching abuse and volunteering in women's shelters, the suggestions are directed to young adult learners and give them a chance to turn the learning into real life action.


Additional Resource suggestions are included in every Study Guide - giving you a plenty of ideas to expand their reading and learning with books, videos and movies.


Progeny Press guides are very easy to use, everything you need (just add the book) is laid out for you. The Answer Keys are included as well (a great bonus for busy moms that may not have had the time to read along with her high schoolers...)

Be sure to check out a few other titles the Crew is reviewing:




Find Progeny Press on Social Media:

Study Guides for Literature {Progeny Press Reviews}
Facebook: facebook.com/progenypress
Twitter: twitter.com/progenypress
Pinterest: pinterest.com/progenypress

Hashtags: #hsreviews #literature #homeschool #unitstudies #reading #english #criticalthinking #ilovebooks #progenypress







Study Guides for Literature {Progeny Press Reviews}
Crew Disclaimer

Friday, October 4, 2019

Autobiography Maps

I love teaching geography at Co-op!  But, not all students learn the same way, so this year I'm trying to incorporate projects for my students that provide an outlet for artistic expression too..

This was a fun project - that got them thinking and creating!  They completed a questionnaire with some "about you" questions, then took their answers and made them into a map.  The basic requirements were to include at least 5-7 answers from their questionnaire, include a key and a compass rose.

I was pleasantly surprise by the results, even from the non-creative types!! Plus, it was a great way for the students to get to know each other better too.

So easy, and memorable,  take a peek...




Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Peace 2019-20

Peace is the Co-op I helped launch 5 years ago.  It's a collection of like-minded families sharing this homeschool journey together.

This year, I get to teach: Biology, American History, World Geography, Writing and Literature

Here's a few snapshots of our day -

My American history class is making history Smash books this year...plan to see more soon.  Basically, we took old Childcraft encyclopedias and are rebuilding them into scrapbooks of history.


We have art lessons - thankfully, not taught my me :-)


This is my World geography class - I LOVE teaching this!  We are playing Fantasy Geopolitics this year (think Fantasy Football with the countries of the world)  and having so much fun!


This is my "World in 11 people" demo... they love getting dressed up, and I get to teach them about the world that God loves!  What could be more fun than that?



We all share the teaching... this is our Advance Biology class. We have grades 5-12th with 7 families.  The students all work very hard.  But they play hard too...




Stay tuned - I'll definitely have more adventures to share with you!  Sharing the homeschool adventure together is one of my greatest blessings.