Susan Wise Bauer and Jessie Wise: The Well-Trained Mind: A Guide to Classical Education at Home
Diane Flynn Keith: Carschooling
Carol Topp: Homeschool Co-ops: How to Start Them, Run Them and Not Burn Out
~Fall Pumpkin Harvest~
Jul. 31, 2009
Amazing FREE Preview of 45 Sylvan Dell Children's Books
Posted in Book and Curriculum Reviews
I just LOVE books and what's equally exciting is when books & free are combined together *grin*.
Sylvan Dell Publishing has an amazing assortment of fantastic children's books for the elementary aged crowd! They're beautifully illustrated and at the end of each book is a little Q&A or information section where you can delve deeper into some of the topics that were covered while reading :)
So when I heard that they were offering to let the public preview them in their new interactive ebook format I couldn't wait to check them out!! You have access to 45 great titles, you can view them in either manual mode or auto-flip, and you have the choice to listen to them in either English or Spanish (more languages on the way later).
I just have to say that I am totally crazy about the auto-flip mode *grin*. You select the book you want, the language you want it read in and click on auto-flip and it reads the book to your child! Not that I think it's great that I don't have to read anymore *wink* but from a multi-tasking perspective when you have different aged children learning at home this could be a wonderful tool to use during times when you need to do a little one on one work with a different child. You can set the little ones up with the story book to listen to while you tackle some hard math equations with another child :)
Another perk to ebooks is that they are so much more economical than purchasing the real thing. For me that's a hard one because most of the time I really love to have the book in my hands opposed to sitting at the computer but this is definitely a cost cutter and makes it more accessible to more families and the language choices could be a fun way to practice language skills as you learn a second language :)
Okay enough babbling LOL. I'm sure you're thinking where's the link already!! Pop on over the the LOG IN page and you'll find the code already typed in. All you need to do is hit the 'validate access code' button and you're in :) And don't worry, you have plenty of time to get there and check them out as many of you are probably on summer holidays right now :) You've got until October 31st, 2009 to take advantage of this great trial!
Aug. 7, 2008
The Art Fraud Detective
Feb. 19, 2008
Grace Fox's Newest Book ~ Moving from Fear to Freedom
Posted in Book and Curriculum Reviews
I am so excited! Tonight I got my hands on Grace Fox's brand new book Moving from Fear to Freedom. She is a Christian Canadian writer from right here in British Columbia and she writes the most amazing devotional books and comical stories and they include scriptures and prayer/discussion questions to :) They are so easy to relate to and things that each of us has had happen to us at one time or another. I'll let you know how I like this book when I'm done :)
Blessings,
Jan. 10, 2008
Book Review ~ Sign of the Beaver
Posted in Book and Curriculum Reviews
We are reading The Sign of the Beaver by Elizabeth George Speare right now and it is fantastic! We only have a couple of chapters to go and we started the day before yesterday :) It's a story of a young boy and his father that set out to their new settlement to build a cabin and get it ready for the rest of the family to come to but the boy has to stay behind and guard their new home while his father returns home to gather their belongings. While living there alone the boy befriends an indian boy about the same age and they become good friends in a time of the white man and the savages. Learning many things to sustain him on his own the boy waits hopefully for the day his family will return. K is really enjoying it because of the comical situations that they run into and the neat things the indian boy teaches his new friend.
While I read K has been drawing pictures to go along with the story. This is a photo of Matt and Attean fishing together along the riverbank with spears.
Blessings,
BChsMamaof3
Jul. 25, 2007
Book Review ~ An Egg is Quiet by Dianna Aston & Sylvia Long
Posted in Book and Curriculum Reviews
I wanted to share this great picture book called An Egg is Quiet by Dianna Aston and Sylvia Long that I found. This isn't just any ordinary story book that you read and forget. This one actually is educational! It's all about eggs: where they can be found, what they look like (size, texture, color and so on), how an egg feeds and protects the baby inside, and of course what happens when the egg hatches : )
The text is simple and not to wordy and the pictures are absolutely beautiful. At the beginning there is a two page spread of tons of different bird, amphibian, and insect eggs with all of their names underneath them and then at the end is another two page spread comprised of different species of birds again with their names and inside there is a page showing the development of a chicken, a salmon, and a grasshopper embryo. I just might have to purchase this book for our own library : )
Blessings,
BChsMamaof3
Jul. 20, 2007
Book Review ~ Night by Eli Wiesel
Posted in Book and Curriculum Reviews
Night by Elie Wiesel is a heart wrenching story based on the true events of his struggle as an adolescent Jewish boy during the holocaust as he tried to survive in concentration camps during 1944 - 1945, the traumatic experiences he experienced and witnessed, the loss of his entire family, his loss of faith in God and the hurt he felt as he failed to understand how He could let these horrific acts of genocide happen to them. His story is a testament to what happened so that we will never forget it or let it happen again. Definitely worth reading.
Blessings,
BChsMamaof3
Jul. 17, 2007
Book Review ~ The Birth House by Ami McKay
Posted in Book and Curriculum Reviews
I can't believe how quickly I read this book from front to back! The Birth House by Ami McKay is a historical fiction based in the early 1900's just before the beginning of World War I in the town of Scots Bay, Nova Scotia. If you are not familiar with Canadian geography this is an actual town. It even includes the great Halifax Explosion of 1917.
The story is of a young girl that learns to become a midwife during a time when women were struggling to have control over what happened to their bodies and when doctors felt that the right place to have their babies was in the doctors clinic. A newcomer doctor turns many of the women and their husbands against midwifery in favor of a 'painless' birth at the birthing center by the use of a 'twilight sleep' and forceps, with mamma waking up groggy, no memory of childbirth and no baby in her arms. This was a time when information on childbirth, traditions, and womens health & happiness was kept secret in their diaries or shared amongst knitting circles. The book also has some really great references to herbal remedies and concoctions that were used by the midwife and were treasured secrets of her 'Willow Book'.
Blessings,
BChsMamaof3
PS. I nearly forgot. Ami McKay will be on the Sunshine Coast in Sechelt for the Sunshine Coast Festival of the Written Arts and Ami McKay will be doing a reading on August 12th @ 9am.
Jul. 3, 2007
Book Review ~ My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult
Posted in Book and Curriculum Reviews
I just finished reading My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult and it was great. When their daughter is diagnosed with a rare form of Leukemia they decide to have another child with the help of a lab to create a perfect match that would serve as a donor to her sister, starting with a cord blood donation. But it continued from there.
I felt the pain of what it would be like to have a child diagnosed with a terminal illness, I cried a few times and was shocked by the turn of events that takes place towards the end. I don't want to go into much more detail and spoil it for you if you haven't read it yet : ) If you have a chance to sneak this into your summer reading I would reccommend it.
Blessings, BChsMamaof3
Jun. 9, 2007
Pirateology: A Guidebook & Model Set
Posted in Book and Curriculum Reviews
K made a deal with me that if he cleaned his room up really good and was able to part with all of his old and broken toys I would buy him the newest Pirateology Guidebook & Model Set book by Capt. William Lubber. Well he stuck to his promise, cleaned up his room spotless and as bartered I presented him with his new book : )
Inside is a really great handbook that shows drawings of all sorts of ships that were seized by pirates, an identifying chart of all of the flags of the nations used by seafaring companies during 1724, what it looked like inside a pirate ship, charts and navigation, what a pirates prized possessions were, what they ate, slept in, what sort of punishments and entertainment was supplied and more including how to make your own secret code to your treasure!!
This is K's Swiftbuck which is included in the book completely disassembled and you have to put it together. Boy did he have a lot of fun doing it! And the fun doesn't stop there. Now he has all of his Lego out and he is building more ships and barges and a port and creating his own adventures : )
This is a great book.
Blessings,
BChsMamaof3
May. 30, 2007
Really Great Map Book!
Posted in Book and Curriculum Reviews
We found this little treasure at the library last night : )
Once Upon A Time Map Book by B.G. Hennessy is a really great way to practice map skills.
There are 6 maps of some of the best fairytales:
- The Enchanted Forest (Snow White)
- The Giant's Kingdom (Jack and the Beanstalk)
- Neverland (Peter Pan)
- The Land of Oz
- Aladdin's Kingdom
- Wonderland (Alice in Wonderland)
Each one is beautifully painted and includes a key, detailed series of instructions to follow, the compass rose, and a gridded map. The goal of the book is to go through each of the maps and find the hidden wedding present for Cinderella and Prince Charming : ) As you work through each map there are dangers to watch out for, extra things to look for such as the Giant's Hen and the Golden Harp in the Giant's kingdom, and the wedding present isn't always right near the path. Sometimes you have to do a little searching to find out its location!
This is a really great book : )
I think we will be getting a copy of this to own since the little ones will benefit from this book as they get older. Plus I really liked doing it myself.
Be warned.... it's a lot of fun..... you may not want to share it with the children *grin*
Blessings,
BChsMamaof3
Oct. 25, 2006
Product Review ~ Rainbow Rock Math CD-Rom
Posted in Book and Curriculum Reviews
Product Review ~ Active Primary Mathematics in
Rainbow Rock
Rainbow Rock is a bronze medal winner of the International Interactive Multimedia Competition and covers the subjects of Singapore Math's Primary Math 1A thru 2B in exciting activities and games.
It covers:
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counting
-
mental calculation
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addition
-
subtraction
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multiplication
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division
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using fractions
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shape recognition
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pattern recognition
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spatial visualization
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solving word problems
I purchased this for K this year as an alternative to always doing book and worksheet activities. I thought that it would be a great way to keep math fun while playing the games and at the same time he would be working on the outcomes we need to cover for this year without even knowing it : ) He thinks it is just fun games that he gets to play on the computer. Hehehehe little does he know that he is actually learning something. If moms not telling him what he needs to do then it musn't be schoolwork : )
It is succesfully helping to drill in those basic math concepts that he needs to be learning. It has interactive animation that talks to you while you play and you can start out with really simple problems and as you answer each set you move on to the next set they gradually get more difficult. It is really user friendly to. K doesn't spend a lot of time on the computer but he has no problem navigating through the menus to which games he would like to do. Each section explains what he needs to do and while working on a problem there are hints as well if he can't figure out exactly what he needs to do.
I am definitely happy with my purchase and give it a big 2 thumbs up : )
Blessings,
BChsMamaof3
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~About Me~
Hello from Canada! I am a homeschooling mom to 3 very rambunctious children ages 10, 6 & 3 years old while holding down the fort as tug boat captain 'Dad' sails the seven seas *grin*. We're located on 40 acres in a tiny rural community in beautiful British Columbia and this is my quirky journal about our homeschool journey, running my home based business 'RosyUndPosy' making 'Eco Friendly Bags 4 Green Living', and everyday life home on the farm. Hope you enjoy your visit :)
Want to have a peak at what the weather looks like here today? Here's a cam showing the lovely scenic view looking east down Johnstone Strait past Helmcken & Hardwicke Islands.
And this one is looking north across Johnstone Strait towards Hardwicke Island. Hit the refresh button on your browser to update the picture and make sure you stop by during daylight hours :)
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