Deanna

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Christ-Centered Books for Easter

Posted on March 18, 2016 by Deanna

Books are big around our house, and holidays are a special excuse to pull out old favorites. When it comes to the big HOLYdays like Christmas and Easter, I am especially intentional about trying counter the cultural messages that bombard my children and focus on the true reason we celebrate.

To the consternation of some of my friends, we don’t do bunnies and Easter baskets. I want my children to find wonder and take delight in the miracle of the resurrection, and I think a bunny bringing candy is pretty stiff competition for a young heart’s affections. I also try to keep egg hunts separate from Resurrection Sunday, though because eggs do tie into the celebration as a symbol of new life, we enjoy a few egg-related books and activities in the weeks before Easter.

Here are our families favorite books to celebrate the Passion Week, culminating with Christ’s sacrifice and triumph over death (affiliate links):

The Donkey Who Carried a King by R.C. Sproul

The Legend of the Easter Robin: An Easter Story of Compassion and Faith
by Dandi Daley Mackall

The Parable of the Lily by Liz Curtis Higgs

The Legend of the Sand Dollar by Chris Auer

Benjamin’s Box by Melody Carlson and Jack Stockman (goes along with “Resurrection Eggs” and is one of our favorites!)

For the preschoolers, I use The Story of the Resurrection Eggs in Rhyme and Song: Miss Patty Cake Opens Up the Wonder of the Easter Story by Jean Thomason. I wasn’t sure about the book on its own, but my little ones adore the DVD that goes along with it, which has made the book a treasure as well.

The Legend of the Easter Egg (I like the main point of this story but it seemed like it could have been more thought out. Still, a good way of redeeming the whole idea of Easter eggs and refocusing on Christ.)

The Very First Easter by Paul L. Maier (This book has beautiful illustrations, which kept Ian intrigued even though the book is better for older children.)

The Easter Cave by Carol Wedeven (repeating pattern in the style of “the house that Jack built”)

The Easter Story by Brian Wildsmith

The Easter Story illustrated by Gennady Spirin (text from Matthew, Luke, & John in KJV)

Journey, Easter Journey! by Dandi Daley Mackall (Rhyming story that tells of Jesus’ entire life through the ascension. Ours came with a read-along CD.)

The Egg-cellent Easter Adventure (We reviewed the related Egglo glow-in-the-dark eggs a few years ago and this is one of my kids’ favorites.)

The Berenstain Bears and the Easter Story by Mike Berenstain (Tells the story of Christ’s death and resurrection truthfully without being graphic.)

An Easter Gift for Me by Crystal Bowman (rhyming board book, great for preschoolers)

Posted in Holidays

Math-U-See With Digital Pack (Crew Review)

Posted on March 14, 2016 by Deanna

$Math-U-See Review$ Over the last few years since we started homeschooling, I have heard repeated praise for Demme Learning’s Math-U-See program, but it wasn’t until we were offered a chance to review their Digital Packs that we actually tried it out for ourselves. Arianna (4) hasn’t really had any intentional exposure to math concepts apart from what she encounters in daily life, so I decided to give her some formal instruction with the Math-U-See Primer Level.

Please pardon the laundry and baby in the background 🙂

About Math-U-See with Digital Pack

Different members of the Crew reviewed various levels from Primer through Pre-Calculus (click on the banner at the bottom to find those reviews), but because we were totally new to Math-U-See and had none of their materials, they generously provided us with the Primer Universal Set, which included everything we needed to get started:

Instruction manual (hardcover, 128 pages of teacher notes for each lesson and complete solutions)
Instruction DVD (with a short video for each lesson introducing the concepts being taught)
Student workbook (softcover with 429 perforated, 3-hole punched pages)
Integer block set (with plastic manipulatives for numbers 1-10 and 100)
12-months of access to the Primer Digital Pack, which includes the following:
- Skip Count Songs (MP3 download–about 25 minutes long)
- Songbook (44-page PDF with melody, lyrics, and black and white pictures)
- online access to the instruction videos found on the DVD
- online access to Digital Manipulatives
- Instruction Manual (PDF)

Math-U-See also has additional resources for record-keeping and extra practice available on their website. (For higher levels there is even an online worksheet generator.)

If you don’t need everything in the Universal Set, Digital Packs can be purchased individually, but student workbooks (and test booklets for the higher levels) are not included and will need to be purchased as well.

Our Experience

From the moment the curriculum arrived, all my kids were drawn to it. I wan’t sure the digital manipulatives would make sense without having at least some familiarity with the physical set, so I let everyone take some time being creative with the integer blocks.

Arianna was SO excited to have her own school work, and the older boys loved helping her. The concepts in Primer are introduced very gently, so for her this was more a time of learning how to fit concepts she’s already learned (like counting and writing numbers) into a set structure.

The primer level starts about as basic as you can get, with simple counting and number recognition. Over the weeks that we’ve had it, our lessons have also covered shapes, writing numerals, and place value. Each lesson has lots of practice pages in the student workbook, and she often wanted to do multiple pages in a sitting. I usually just let her go until she seemed to be losing interest and then we’d put it away. However, she never really grew bored with it overall. She loved taking it along with us when she thought she might need something to entertain herself.

Primer_zpsnyjgbvau Each lesson consists of a short instructional video, which can be viewed from the DVD or online as part of the Digital Pack, and a lesson in the Instruction Manual. These were more for me as a parent than for Arianna, and I often went through them the night before as preparation so our math time was more about just having fun together. I really liked the convenience of accessing the videos online through the Digital Pack, and usually chose to do that rather than putting on the DVD.

Another great feature of the Digital Pack is the online manipulatives. Math-U-See’s integer blocks are a key component of the curriculum because they help students really see and understand what the numbers they’re working with mean. Having access to the digital manipulatives makes it easy to do lessons away from home without toting along the whole set, especially in the higher levels of the curriculum. However, I don’t think they’re quite as useful at the Primer level, where children really need the hands-on experience. (The instruction manual even says, “Young children…need to see, touch, and build with concrete objects in order to understand.”)

Arianna really never had any opportunity to use the digital manipulatives in all the Primer lessons we did, but the boys and I spent some time exploring them. The boys had no trouble using them on our laptops in the Chrome browser (though there is a separate app available if you want to use it on a tablet). The blocks are easy to drag and drop onto the screen wherever you want them.

Just like with the physical integer block set, the digital set can also be used for all sorts of creative purposes.

The skip counting song was another great bonus for all my kids to enjoy. We often put on “school songs” to sing along to as we drive around town, and this was a great addition to our collection. I also love that the skip counting songs aren’t just about the numbers but refer to Bible stories and other familiar tales to make them more interesting. I just wish the songs had been available to download separately instead of as one long MP3 file.

Final Thoughts

I think the Digital Packs are a great addition to the Math-U-See program, but they’re probably more helpful in some situations than others.

Pros

Digital manipulatives don’t take up precious space (or get lost).
Online videos and manipulatives make it easy to do lessons away from home.
Even at home, the online videos and manipulatives are often more convenient than the DVD and physical integer block set since you can pull them up on any device with Internet access.
If you have multiple students using the same level but on different lessons, one can be online while the other uses the DVD.

Cons

Digital manipulatives don’t help with the Primer level workbook pages, which are designed for the child to use with the physical integer blocks.
12-month access to Digital Packs may not be ideal for families who pass down curriculum from child to child. I like that I’ll be able to pull out the DVD and Instruction Manual with my younger children long after my access to the Digital Pack has expired.

Arianna really enjoyed Math-U-See, and I think the Primer materials were the perfect gentle introduction to formal math for a four-year old. We’re looking forward to the rest of the lessons, which include addition, skip counting, telling time, and beginning subtraction. I’m not sure when I’ll be officially starting Kindergarten with her, but I would definitely consider moving up to Alpha once she completes the Primer level.

Posted in Homeschool Resources, Kindergarten, Preschool, Product reviews

Wrapping Up Week 29 (2015-16)

Posted on March 13, 2016 by Deanna

Somewhere in my counting of “weeks” of school I got ahead of myself last week, so this will be the second time I post about Week 29, but this time it really is. Not that the count is at all important aside from turning in paperwork. My children’s education is such a natural part of our lifestyle that it seems rather silly to count certain days over other days and then stop counting at some magical number even though very little changes when they’re not “doing school.” I think the main difference is that I try to get through a year-long curriculum during our official 36 weeks for certain topics. After that it’s all just fun enrichment and continued practice.

Science

This week we covered the lessons on the sun in Our Planet Earth (from God’s Design for Heaven and Earth). The boys especially liked learning about solar eclipses and were so glad there was a whole page about when and where they could see the next one. They’re planning a road trip for August 2017 to find an optimal viewing position. For now they had to settle for creating their own model.

Writing

I’m really impressed with how much the boys have learned this year in their IEW class going through Fables, Myths and Fairy Tales: Writing Lessons in Structure & Style. This week they were finishing up their versions of The Ugly Duckling, and I was amazed at what a smooth process their writing assignments have become. Last year it was like pulling teeth to get more than a sentence or two out of Ian, but the IEW program has made such a difference. Now he not only knows what to write about, he knows how to put together an interesting story with varied stylistic techniques, and it’s a relatively painless process.

As a Kindergartner Elijah is really young for the class, but even he has learned so much and takes delight in finding just the right words to put his stories together. I want this whole process to be a positive one for both boys, so I let them dictate their stories to me for now. They follow the outlines they’ve created in class, and I type (or write, if we’re doing it during Arianna’s ballet class as often happens) their paragraphs as they dictate to me. Then we come back to it another day and put in any “dress-ups” that didn’t already naturally come into their narration. Both boys love sharing the stories with the other kids in the class.

History

Ian’s still plugging away at his Veritas Press Self-Paced History Course on the Middle Ages, Renaissance, and Reformation. This week he covered Martin Luther, so in addition to his daily computer work I read aloud Martin Luther: A Man Who Changed the World by Paul L. Maier.

On his own, Ian read Martin Luther: What Should I Do? from a series by Catherine MacKenzie. I’ve never read any of the Little Lights books before, but I was impressed with this book and decided to buy more in the series. They’re all biographies of famous Christians, and they’re easy enough books that I didn’t hear any complaints from Ian when I asked him to read. There are several that will easily go along with our history studies over the next couple years, and I might have him read others just for the exposure to great missionary stories.

Extras

One thing we spent a lot of time on this week was a Stopmotion Explosion project that Ian’s hoping to share with the IEW class in a few weeks. We’re making a short film telling the story of “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight,” of the the legends about King Arthur’s knights. The whole process of taking the pictures, adding the sound, choosing music, and editing it all together has been educational for all of us, especially Ian. I have a feeling this will just be the first of many such projects.

Upcoming Reviews

We’re enjoying several products right now, so watch for these reviews in the next few weeks:

Math-U-See – Primer level with Digital Pack
Owlegories: The Ant, The Fruit, The Butterfly
Essentials 2nd Edition (Multi-level reading, spelling, grammar, and vocabulary
from Logic of English)
TimesTales (videos teaching the multiplication table)
Stopmotion Explosion Animation Kit
homeschoolcopywork.com
A+Interactive Math Mini-Courses
Plug n’ Play Hub by Securly (helping provide safe wifi for kids)

Posted in Weekly Wrap Up

Wrapping Up Week 28 (2015-16)

Posted on March 7, 2016 by Deanna

Last week continued our trend of sickness and field trips tweaking our regular school schedule, but we managed to stay on top of things. Thankfully the boys can get through their math independently (Ian in Teaching Textbooks Math 3, Elijah in Year 1 of MEP, with both doing drills on xtramath.org every day that we’re home). Ian’s also really good about doing his Veritas Press Self-Paced History course on his own, studying the Inquisition this past week.

Field Trips

On Monday we visited the Compassion Experience along with some other friends from our homeschool group. The kids really liked learning about what life was like for two sponsor children in Kenya and the Philippines. Even Nicholas (2) did better than I expected, though he had a little trouble keeping the headphones on his head.

Then on Thursday we visited the Huntington Library and Gardens to see their complete vellum copy of the Gutenberg Bible (one of only five left in the world). It was pretty impressive to think that we were looking at something actually created by Johann Gutenberg over 500 years ago! The kids also had a wonderful time exploring the Children’s Garden.

A few final thoughts

We’re being stretched (in a good way) by Essentials from Logic of English. It’s a very detailed curriculum, more structured than anything else we do, but I’m already seeing some very positive results. It’s also created a new dynamic for us, teaching Ian and Elijah the same thing simultaneously. It’s spurring both of them on, and so far I like what I’m seeing from them. I think we accomplish more when they’re working together than we would if Ian were going through the program alone. The little ones have also loved having time to play on Starfall (we’ve had the “more Starfall” subscription for several years and LOVE it) and Reading Eggs while we do our Essentials work.

We also had fun getting started with Stopmotion Explosion. Both boys have made short little movies to learn the basic process, and we’re getting ready to tackle something a little bigger. Out of all the things we’ve reviewed, I think the boys will remember this one the most!

Upcoming Reviews

We’re enjoying several products right now, so watch for these reviews in the next few weeks:

Math-U-See – Primer level with Digital Pack
Owlegories: The Ant, The Fruit, The Butterfly
Essentials 2nd Edition (Multi-level reading, spelling, grammar, and vocabulary
from Logic of English)
TimesTales (videos teaching the multiplication table)
Stopmotion Explosion Animation Kit
homeschoolcopywork.com
A+Interactive Math Mini-Courses
Plug n’ Play Hub by Securly (helping provide safe wifi for kids)

Posted in Weekly Wrap Up

The Dragon and The Raven Audio Adventure (Crew Review)

Posted on March 1, 2016 by Deanna

What do you know about Alfred the Great? This early king of England not only helped defeat the raiding Vikings, but was also was a man of deep faith who helped bring his enemies to Christ. Now Heirloom Audio Productions has brought his inspiring story back to life in their newest adventure, The Dragon and the Raven, based on the historical novel by G.A. Henty. We were blessed by their generosity in allowing us to review not only the audio drama, but also several bonuses materials that helped us get even more about of the story.

About Heirloom Audio Productions

Heirloom Audio Productions is passionate about bringing history to life. Through their dramatic audio adventures they are introducing a new generation to “The Extraordinary Adventures of G.A. Henty,” a 19th century author whose historical, character-building novels enjoyed great popularity more than a hundred years ago. Each story features virtuous characters who must learn how to walk out their faith in the midst of the trials they face.

Heirloom Audio Productions strives for excellence in every aspect of what they do. From their talented actors to the beautiful soundtracks, these two-hour plus dramas are quality productions that both children and adults can appreciate. Our family has eagerly added all their audio adventures to our library:

Under Drake’s Flag (about Sir Francis Drake)
In Freedom’s Cause (about William Wallace and Robert the Bruce–see my review)
With Lee in Virginia (a Civil War tale–see my review)

and now, The Dragon and the Raven!

About The Dragon and the Raven

Like the others in this series, the adventure begins with two boys, Ned and Gerald, meeting up with “Mr. George,” (G.A. Henty), who sets the stage for the story he’s about to tell. This time the boys will take on the more common 9th century names of “Edmund” and “Harold” as the live out the adventure.

After the death of his father, young Edmund becomes a close ally of King Alfred and joins him in battling the invading Danes. Through the course of the story we see many examples of courage, honor, and what it looks like to love one’s enemies. There’s even a bit of romance as Edmund falls in love with (and must later come to the rescue of) Freya, the daughter of one of the Danes. As in all of Henty’s stories, virtue is held in high esteem, and the characters model qualities we hope our children will emulate.