So ... I finally got my school shelves cleaned out and organized for this year. Good thing, since we start school tomorrow!
I found a few things I won't be needing anymore. All prices include shipping. I can take PayPal or money orders. No reasonable offers refused!
Email me at kidzanddogs (at) comcast (dot) net.
The blue links below will take you directly to information on each book.
Noah's Ark by Jerry Pinkney. This is Caldecott Honor book, hardcover, brand new. Sells for $11.55 plus s/h on Amazon. My price $9.00
Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons - I taught 5 of my children how to read with this book! Well, not this exact book. I think this is our 3rd one! LOL! Like new. Sells for $15.00 plus s/h on Amazon. My price $12.00
TruthQuest History-Age of Revolution III: 1865-2000 - Some pencil marking in the first few pages, otherwise in very good condition. $34.95 plus s/h on Amazon. My price $26.00
TruthQuest History-American History for Young Students III (1865-2000) - Suitable for up through 6th grade. Some notes in the margins (in pen). Sells for $29.95 plus s/h on Amazon. My price $22.00
Learning Language Arts Through Literature - The Yellow Book - (Teacher's Book) Excellent condition. Can be used without the Student Book. Sells for $18.00 plus s/h on Amazon. My price $11.00
Learning Language Arts Through Literature - The Red Book - (Complete Program) Includes Teacher book, Student Activity book and 6 Readers Very good to Like New condition. Sells for $88.00 plus s/h on Common Sense Press. My price $73.00
Teaching Textbooks - Math 6 - Student workbook, Answer book and CD's. Like new condition. Sells for $149.90 (free s/h) on Teaching Textbooks. My price $100.00
Teaching Textbooks - Algebra I - Includes Textbook, Answer Keys/Test Bank, and all CD's. Like new condition. Sells for $184.90 on Teaching Textbooks. My price $135.00
We school year-round ... but don't tell my children! They need an end date. They want to be able to tell their friends when their last day of school is. So I pick one. Usually it's the last Friday of May -- that way they get to be the first ones to be finished among their peers! LOL!
However, I have no intention of stopping their education just because it's summer! Don't get me wrong -- I always plan to be finished with formal homeschooling by the end of May. I fashion my lesson plans to coincide with a "normal" school year. But you know what? Life happens! Man plans but God laughs! In 20 years of homeschooling, we have never gotten 100% through with every lesson in every subject. And I've learned .... that's okay!
Ask some public school teachers that you know ... do they finish every page of every book? No! And why do they spend the first month back to school going over stuff from last year? Partly to review and refresh their students memories, partly to teach the stuff that didn't get taught the year before! :o)
It's not all work throughout the summer at our house. But I do loosely plan our days. Every day I want my children to do something:
Physical -- bike ride, jump on the trampoline, push mow the dog pen ... something that gets the blood pumping!
Educational -- Monday, Wednesdays and Fridays are math-related. Tuesdays and Thursdays are English/grammar/writing-related. I also read to them during lunch-time, usually a book from whatever historical time period we've been studying.
Intellectual -- read a book, write a story, research a topic of interest, create a game, design a bird feeder, plan a party ...
For someone else -- write a note to grandma, walk the neighbor's dog, bake cookies for their Sunday School teacher, clean out dad's car.
Some days they have friends over, but that doesn't stop me! I can usually make sure they (and their friends!) get their 4 R's (requirements!) in ... and they usually don't even realize it!
I'll have more ideas for filling the 4 R's next time!
Pssst ... don't faint! This almost qualifies as a REAL POST!!!!
What do you call 24 people ranging in age from 5 to 80-something, who drive 300+ miles in rain, sleet and snow for 4 days in northern Kentucky?! Crazy? LOL! Yep, crazy homeschoolers taking a fieldtrip to the Creation Museum!
Sixteen of us made the journey from southern Michigan in our motorhome. We had a great time playing games, eating, laughing, and enjoying each other's company.
A few of the children gathered in the kitchen. We were blessed to be able to stay at on the property of a home in the beautiful Kentucky foothills. The family who own it were gone for the week, and gave us full reign! It was wonderful and crazy!
This is the main lobby of the Creation Museum.
Adam naming the animals.
Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden ... see the snake in the upper tree branch? This entire exhibit was very multi-sensory, with water falling, the breeze blowing, birds chirping.
After the Fall.
The entrance to the bookstore ... but also a nice segue into the dinosaur picture! :o)
Rebekah pointing out some sort of flying dinosaur to me.
We went thru the Aviary ... it was so cool to watch the birds eating right out of people's hands!
Matt (my dear husband) on the left with 2 other dads and a teen all wearing red ... totally unscripted!
I think Valentine's Day is my favorite holiday! Of course, as each one comes around I think that one is the best ... LOL!
However, Valentine's Day comes right in the middle of the dreariest month of the year. In my opinion, it is the only thing that remotely redeems February! In addition to that, I love all things hearts, so clearly this is a day made just for me!
This year, since Valentine's Day falls on a Friday, our co-op is going to devote most of the day to related activities! We are going to set up stations, and have the kids rotate through each different learning center:
Bible -- Here we will look up various verses with the word "love" in them. We will talk about God's love toward us and our love toward others. We will discuss the concept of love as an action vs. a feeling.
History -- Who was St. Valentine? Why did he get a holiday named in his honor? Who is Cupid? Why do we use a heart shape to depict love?
Math -- At this station we are going to have a chart with the phrases from conversation hearts listed. The kids will estimate how many times each phrase appears in a bag of that candy. Some other activities will include making different kinds of charts, figuring percentages, fractions, etc.
Science -- Yes, we really are going to dissect a pig heart!! Pray for me!!
Art -- The kids are going to make Valentine cards for their dads. :o)
English -- We're going to list all the synonyms and antonyms for LOVE. We'll create our own definition, then look it up in the dictionary. We'll try a couple of different types of poetry using the theme of LOVE also!
Practical Living -- Here we're going to talk about dating/courtship, and relationships in general. Practical ways to show love to family, friends, church, unbelievers, etc.
Are you doing anything special in your homeschool for Valentine's Day?
**Please leave me your email or web address so I can "talk back" to your comments! :o)
We, like many other homeschoolers, started back to school last week. I spent some time over the holidays pondering our schedule and curriculum ... and tweaking a few things.
Teaching Textbooks just wasn't working for us this year. The kids hated it, and claimed not to understand the new concepts presented. I was spending as much time re-teaching as if I would have just taught it myself the first time! It puzzles me since last year they loved it! I learned long ago that if something wasn't working, no matter how good the reviews, no matter how expensive the text, we're better off shelving it and finding something that will work.
The biggest problem was that there no money in the budget for 3 new math books! I did some searching online and came across a wonderful new-to-me website. edHelper.com is a wonderful resource for any homeschooler, and I found just what we needed to finish out this year's math for all 3 of my children! There are lots of free printables, but I elected to pay the $40 for a one-year membership. edHelper covers every grade and every subject imaginable!
Another site I stumbled upon was a blog right here on Homeschoolblogger! Homeschool Kids Write. Every week ProverbsMom posts a writing assignment for your students to complete. This week the assignment is to write a paragraph with no adjectives or adverbs, then re-write it using lots of descriptive words (adjectives and adverbs!). She explains what they are, and even links to some videos and other websites. Since writing is probably our weakest area, we are going to begin using her assignments, and supplementing with some worksheets from edHelper.
We are continuing to plug away at U.S. Geography on Fridays with our co-op, and I hope to be able to get back to our Apologia Zoology this semester also.
How about you? Have you made any changes in your homeschool?
Please leave me your email or web address so I can "talk back" to your comments! :o)
I am a Christian wife and homeschooling mother to 6 beautiful children ... 12, 13, 17 19, 26, and 29. Yes, we had them in sets of two!! We are homeschooling the youngest 4, the 5th just moved back home for a spell, and the sixth is getting married in November.
We also raise Pomeranian and Shih-Tzu puppies. I love reading mysteries, crocheting, scrapbooking, and reading other like-minded blogs. :o)
kidzanddogs (at) comcast (dot) net. 
