Are your kids great spellers? I have some that are and some that aren’t, but those that are, come by it naturally. Spelling is one of those subject areas I seem to find myself skipping more often than I should. I purchased AVKO spelling and my kids really liked it. The problem was that I never got around to quizzing them. Since AVKO is a “start at the beginning” program, I was working with my 9 and 11 year old on the same list. First, when one child was available, the other was working and, two, one child was much quicker than the other.

I kept reading about SpellQuizzer spelling software on different blogs and forums and decided to give their 30 day free trial a whirl. The website had a list of frequently misspelled words by grade level so I imported those and let my kids try the program. They LOVED it! In fact they regularly asked if they could “play” SpellQuizzer. Um…sure! lol Since I was just getting an idea of how the program worked, I never got as far as trying to make my own lists.

However, I was thrilled to be asked to do an actual review of the program, recently. To do the review I had to re-download the program to make sure I had the latest version. The download process was simple and easy to follow. After download, you’ll find a SpellQuizzer icon on your desktop. Simply click the icon to start the program.

Now, you may be caught off guard when the program starts as there are no instructions. You’ll simply see a screen with options for “Quiz me on a list”, “Create a spelling list”, “Edit spelling lists”, “import spelling lists”, ”Export spelling lists”,and “Help”. And, really, it’s so simple instructions are unnecessary.

First, click “Quiz me on a list”. You’ll find the program is loaded with several grade level sample lists. Click on one and then click “OK”. The program immediately starts quizzing the student. For the Grade 1 sample list, you’ll hear “Cat. The cat played with the ball of yarn.” In the box provided, your child will type the word cat and then either press “enter” or click the “check spelling” button on the screen. If the answer is correct, the program reads the next word. If the answer is incorrect, a small screen shows the child how they spelled the word and how it should be spelled. Click the “OK” box and continue with the quiz. When the quiz is finished, a small screen appears telling you how many errors you made. Click “OK”. You will then be asked if you want to retry the word you missed. Click “Yes”. Try the missed words again. When finished, a box tells you that you’ve correctly spelled the word and another asks if you want to start over. Click “No” and you’re done. A sentence showing “5 of 20 words” displays over the spelling screen as your child works through the test so they always know how many words they have left. The whole process is simple and intuitive.

For my free trial I imported all the frequently misspelled word lists from the SpellQuizzer website. My 6th grader quickly worked through them all, even the “college and above” list! The import process is very simple. I just saved each list to my computer then, in the SpellQuizzer program, clicked the “Import spelling list” box. A screen asks me where to import the file from, I choose the file, check the box for that file in the import box and check “OK”. That’s it. The list will now be available in my “Quiz me” list.

One thing I had not tried with my free trial, was creating my own list. I was a little concerned about setting up the microphone, but that proved to be simple as well. I had a microphone headset I use with our Rosetta Stone software so I just used that. If you don’t have a microphone, you can buy one for around $10.

I plugged in the headset and clicked the “Create a spelling list” icon. First, a box appears asking you to name the list. Since I use AVKO I named they by the book and day. For instance the 7th day list in Book 1, I named AVKO 1.7. A screen will appear with the cursor in a “word to add” box. Type the word. If the word is case sensitive (August, Joe, Mr. Wood) there is a box to check. Then, under the sentence “click Start button to begin recording”, click “Start”. Say the word and a sentence using the word, then click “Stop”. To hear how it sounds, click the “Play Back” button. If it sounds good, click “Add Word” and the word is in your new list. My recordings were a bit crackly, but perfectly acceptable. I’m not sure if that’s because of the cheapie microphone, or what.

At the bottom of the screen is a box to “Adjust Audio and Recording Levels”. When I first recorded there was silence when I hit the “Play Back” button. Oh dear. But I checked the “Adjust Audio” button and got a screen that allowed me to increase the Master Volume, Wave Volume, and Microphone. I moved the Master Volume and Microphone sliders to the top and it worked fine. (I don’t have a clue what Wave Volume is) Once your list is all in, click the “OK” button at the bottom and the list will be in your “Quiz Me” options. If you accidentally click the “OK” button instead of the “Add Word” button (like I did the first word I tried to add) you can easily fix it. Go to the “Edit spelling lists” icon, find the list you were working on, and keep going.

If you don’t have, or don’t want to use a microphone, you can still use the software by typing in “reminder phrases”. For example, for the word “dog” you might put “ours is named Sam”. While I like the idea of this, I’m not sure how well it would really work in practice. Microphones are inexpensive and well worth purchasing to let the program work well.

The program has some really nifty features. The lists in the “Quiz Me” section can be sorted by either name or by date created which makes it nice if you want to quickly find the last list you entered. You can also export lists that you have created. That means if you are part of a co-op and create a list based on your lessons, you can export that list and email it to your members, who can then import it to their own SpellQuizzer software.

The SpellQuizzer spelling program website also has a lot of resources to take advantage of. There are several lists available on the site including holiday lists, religious themed lists, seasons, months and days, and much more. You’ll also find video demonstrations showing how each part of the program works, in case you have any problems.

The only thing “missing”, in my opinion, is a way to record scores or see progress. My kids are good about honestly telling me how they did, but if you had a problem child, that could be an issue. Still, you could have your child show you the screen with their score when they finish and again, once they’ve fixed the misspelled words.

I really like this software and my kids love it. I can just upload my lists when I have time and assign them to the kids to complete. They can move ahead at their own pace. The program can be used by all your children and, in my opinion, is well worth the $29.95 price. If you’d like the software available on up to 5 PC’s (and includes a CD), you can purchase the Family Pack License for $49.95. If you need help with fitting in spelling quizzes, be sure and check out the free trial, for sure!

Terri Johnson of Knowledge Quest Maps has generously let us share the below, very helpful, article.

5 Must-Have, No-Cost Resources for Homeschooling

This past year has not been an easy one for many Americans, that’s for sure.  With businesses downsizing and laying off staff, many loyal employees find themselves out of work.  With the bursting of the real estate bubble, many hard-working homeowners find themselves in a house they can no longer afford to keep and yet can neither afford to sell.  We live in hard times, but often it is these very hard times that generate the most creative thinking.  As they say… Necessity is the mother of invention.  I believe that was first spoken by Plato.  Or you could say... “Invention is the mother of necessity.”  Thorstein Veblen, the author of that quote, was a U.S. economist and social philosopher who lived during the latter portion of the 19^th century until the Great Depression.  He lived in times not unlike our own.  Swift change can cause turmoil.

So, if invention and creativity is spurred on by necessity or difficulty (and vice versa), then now is a great time to look for and use no-cost resources that will serve us well during this economic downturn.

There are many of you who cannot afford homeschooling curriculum this year.  Does that mean that you should put your children into public school?  No, what it means is that it is time to get creative, even inventive, when it comes to our children’s education.

And this is your place to start.  I am going to share with you my top 5 “must-have” homeschooling resources that won’t cost you a dime.  Bookmark each of these sites and refer to them often as you prepare and teach your children during this upcoming school year.

Top 5 Must-Have No-Cost Homeschooling Resources

(These are not listed in any particular order because they are all good!  Bookmark or sign up for them all!)

1. Jim Erskine’s Freebie of the Day - http://www.homeschoolfreebie.wholesomechildhood.com/.  If you are not aware of this site, then I am excited to share it with you.  Jim works with homeschool publishers to provide you with 1 freebie each day.  The link to the freebie is only active for 24 hours, so you have to act fast, but these are quality offerings and not just filler junk.  Trust me, I have participated in this program and we have given away a full U.S. geography curriculum on one occasion and another full ebook on another occasion.  Other publishers are doing the same thing.  So sign up using the “Join List” tab at the top of the page.
2. The Old Schoolhouse’s Teacher Toolbox - http://www.thehomeschoolmagazine.com/E_News/index.php#teacherstoolbox.  Most of you are probably aware of their Freebie Friday newsletter (if you are not, then sign up for that one as well).  But the Teacher Toolbox newsletter is a lesser known treasure. The Teacher's Toolbox is a great way to inject something extra into your teaching plans especially when you are homeschooling on a shoestring.
3. The Homeschool Mom Unit Studies - http://www.thehomeschoolmom.com/schoolroom/unitstudies.php.  Actually, the entire Homeschool Mom site is a gem and you should spend some time there getting familiarized with it and find out what it has to offer.  But I specifically highlighted the unit study page because unit studies are a great way to homeschool your children especially if you are working with limited funds.  You can teach them all the same topic but at varying levels.  You can often utilize library books and online information resources – all for free.
4. Donna Young Printables and Resources - http://donnayoung.org/index.htm.  Yes, this site is a treasure trove of lessons, planners and forms.  There is a form for everything you could ever need.  I especially like her diplomas!  If you are looking for a specific form, a planner or a lesson for a certain subject, make sure that you check here!  Donna Young has so many useful forms and resources that you will think you have hit the jackpot.
5. Homeschooling ABCs Free 5 Day MiniClass – http://www.homeschoolingabcs.com.  Sometimes when you are throwing it all together yourself and not using pre-made curriculum, you can start to wonder if you are on the right track.  Worry no longer… sign up for the free 5 day mini-class at the site above and receive information on:

Ø What to Teach and When

Ø 4 Steps to Homeschooling Success

Ø Homeschooling on a Dime

Ø Getting the Help You Need

Ø Planning and Scheduling

There you go – 5 “Must-Have” No-Cost Resources for Homeschooling.  Take advantage of them.  Let them be the fuel that starts your creative engine and keeps it going strong.  My hope and prayer for you is that you have NOT been hit hard by this financial mess our country has found itself in.  But if you have been, then look for the silver lining amongst the gray clouds.  As Patti Handy says, “Don’t let a good financial crisis go to waste.” (www.teenscashcoach.com)

Warmly,

Terri Johnson

Bramley Books^TM, a division of

Knowledge Quest, Inc.

www.KnowledgeQuestMaps.com

1.877.697.8611

 We are using Mystery of History this year and the kids are loving it. I also purchased Illuminations (currently in beta testing) to go with it. I'm not using many of the components of that program but love the scheduled read-alouds, Family Study Guides, Graphic Organizers and Netflix movie suggestions to go with the lessons.

So far this year we've read:

Adam and His Kin by Ruth Beechick. I almost didn't get this book because it sounded a bit dry and studious. I'm SOO glad I did. It was great! It really helped me with the who's who in the Bible.

The Secret of the Scribe is a great book about a slave that escapes death and disguises herself as a boy to earn a living as a scribe in Ur. Exciting and full of good info on early Sumeria.

And this week we will be finishing up The Golden Goblet. This story is kind of a detective story that takes place in Egypt. Again, lots of references to the culture we've been learning about. This book is a real page turner. The main character, Ranofer, is involved in many difficult situations that make for good, "What would you do?" discussions.

 We've also watched:

-Greatest Places: IMAX

-Noah's Ark

-Dinosaur

-Project Dinosaur (recommended)

-Great Pyramids of Egypt

-Mummies

Below, the kids are excavating fossils from "dinosaur eggs". They were then able to put their skeletons together. I also have pictures of our Cuneiform tablets and Brayden's Zigurrat, but seem to have misplaced them. I'll try and find them and get them up shortly.

 I'm really pleased to have a curriculum that we are all (me included!) enjoying so much!

The Front Porch is hosting a First Day of School Challenge and it sounded like fun, so here goes. Unfortunately, I read about it AFTER the fact and failed to take pictures. However, I DID take pics from earlier this summer (I'll get to our school day, I promise).

I took these about 10:30 one weekday morning. Though I'm not totally comfortable with the idea of unschooling, I do find that my children tend toward fairly enriching activities on their own.

Brayden did some drawing. Note his leg up on the table. Apparently, that helps with creativity. He'd wanted to draw a skateboarder so we found a Google image that I printed out and he attempted to copy.

Skylar was checking out some US States flashcards. I swear, he pulled them out all on his own.

And Paige was folding clothes while listening to a book on tape. Yes, the folding is on her chore list!

So that was a typical summer day. Now on to "school".

We actually started what I call "school light" this week. Since we had Monday off, I'm still trying to work on the house and I have a meeting in Pendleton on Thursday, we're just getting our feet wet. I bought both Paige and Skylar planners, letting them choose one that they liked. They each have several subjects they'll be doing on the computer or that they can do on their own each day. I wrote these out on the appropriate days in their planners, as well as any activtivities we have coming up.

Both Paige and Sky are using Teaching Textbooks (5 & 7) this year. I set those up and they each did a lesson. Actually, Skylar enjoyed it so much he did two! Works for me.

I also loaded Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing. Paige did six lessons and Skylar did two. Obviously, they liked that as well.

I'm trying a Switched On Schoolhouse Language Arts module with Paige. We set that up and did a lesson. We'll see how it goes. Skylar did a spelling lesson from one of his workbooks.

I worked with Brayden on Saxon Math 1 and Scaredy Cat Reading. (He really likes this)

Then we all played The Farming Game for Kids. I have a lot of great games that I generally don't take advantage of. I'm really going to try and fit them in this year.

Next week we start "real school". I'm using a combination of The Mystery of History and Story of the World. I found a list online that combined the reading from the two. I also found a list that added corresponding Bible reading. I am really excited about this. I've added lots of good read alouds to the program and found 2-3 movies each week on Netflix that correspond to what we'll be learning. Our first book is Adam and His Kin by Ruth Beechick, though it still hasn't arrived. (Hopefully, by Monday!)

We'll also be using Artistic Pursuits once or twice a week and Exploration Science once or twice a week. There are quite a few craft/art projects included in our Mystery of History curriculum, as well as mapping and timeline work. Skylar and Paige will also be doing IEW Writing a couple of times a week.

I'm pretty excited about next week, as are the kids. I see my copy of, "It's Disgusting and We Ate It" is available on hold for me at the library! :-)

And no, he doesn't know why I'm taking the picture except that I'm so doggone impressed with his creation! LOL Ya just gotta laugh. I wonde how soon until this project can disappear.

We were in Seattle with the Suarez family (from The Old Schoolhouse Magazine) last week and it happened to be Skylar's birthday. He even got to visit the Space Needle on his birthday! (I'll post pics and blog about it soon)

Since we were at a Convention (WATCH) on his birthday I took him shopping in the exhibit hall and he

picked out this from the Timberdoodle booth (love those guys!).  Find them HERE.

They are movable, posable guys called Stikfas. This is the G2 Alpha Male Outdoor Adventurer. lol Then we got this :

Which is their Stop Motion Animation kit. I wasn't sure how hard it would be to make movies, but we finally sat down with it yesterday and figured it out.

This is Skylar's first movie: The Canoe Trip. He did the movie and I did the title, credits and sound. (I couldn't figure it out until after he went to bed). You might want to right click and open in a new window as I couldn't get the video to embed.

And here is what he did this morning, all on his own. This move is over 400 still shots. And it involves three different programs to put it all together. So, the fact that he can do this, at only 9 years old, is pretty impressive!

I'm sure he'll get better and better as we learn to use transitions, sound effects and special effects. This was just our first attempt. I have a feeling this was a great investment! He even ordered another set of "guys" online with some of his birthday money.

That is the title of the new Ben Stein movie coming out this spring. In it, he talks with the many scientiests that are being persecuted for questioning Darwinism and allowing for the possibility of Intelligent Design. They are refused tenure and publication in scientific journals and just plain persecuted.

Do take a moment and check it this site. Click on Tralers & Video and then watch the Super Trailer for a good overview. This will be a good one to take the kids to. Under Leaders you'll find a downloadable Teacher's Guid and posters as well.

You can even enter to win free tickets.

If you don't subscribe to The Old Schoolhouse Magazine, you might consider at least ordering the current issue. I wrote a unit on Following the Iditarod that is really tons of fun to do with your kids. You'll find all kinds of ideas and resources. The race starts the first week in March so you have plenty of time to get your issue and gather supplies and resources. This is really a great "real-time" learning project.

Oh yeah, there's other good stuff, too. Ha!

Sometimes I question my sanity in leading Cub Scouts when I've already got so much going on. What I like about it, though, is that it's social and educational and, basically, I just consider it "fun school".

This month's theme is Cub Scout Car Show. Naturally, the boys are working on their Pinewood Derby cars. Tonite we visited  a local man that builds Nascar racecars. I knew he worked with race cars but was really surprsised at the amount of work they had going on. This is all in a town with a population of less than 1000!

When we visited he had four cars in progress. Each sells for about $100,000 (Chuck is quick to say he can't afford one for himself!) with the engine making up about half of the cost. Five men work in the shop with one traveling over 2 hrs. from Yakima every day. Each car requires approximately 900 man hours to produce.

Anyway, it was fun to see and I got some neat pics to share.

Skylar & Brayden

Chuck answering questions

The cars. All were red, my favorite color.

The front seat. The gas tank is immediately behind - where the back seat would be. Kind of worrisome. The cars all have automatic fire extinguishers. He said they take them off when they're working on the cars so they don't go off when a torch or something gets too close. Yes, it's happened.

Pretty engine. Did you know I once made fiberglass car bodies? I didn't like it. But I did it. lol

Sky checking out the interior.

Some of the boys.

We have our Medieval Feast invites all ready to mail. Below is a sample. We then folded in thirds and sealed with candle wax. I had a fairy tale Stampin' Up stamp set so we "sealed" each one with a knight, frog or princess.  :-) (The black background was just so you could see the burned edges. The invite is only the parchment piece in the middle.

It reads as below:

Hear Ye! Hear Ye!

Thou has been summoned to join

Lord John II and Lady Dena LaRay

at a Medieval Feast to honor the presence of

the most esteemed King John I and Queen Angelee

of the land of Starbuck.

Please arrive at the hour of one,

to join us for great feasting, entertainment

and merry making.

I hereby decree that the feast will

take place on the first day of December, in the

year of our Lord, 2007, at Wood Castle

in the burg of Waits

in the Great Hall.

Your presence will be a great honour.

Earn $10,000 by Creating Company Christmas cards

I think I'm going to point this contest out to my artistic son. A couple of years ago he made some notecards for a friend. They were cards with her Mom's two boxers on the front. (One young & sprightly and the other older & mellow) He also did a great drawing of our house that I then "watercolored" in Photoshop and used as the front of our family Christmas card. It got a lot of comments and was fun to do.

So, what does this have to do with a scholarship, you might ask? If you head over to Gallery Collection you'll find they are hosting a Christmas cards scholarship contest . And  the $10,000 iis nothing to sneeze at! Your card can consist of photos, artwork or computer graphics and you don't even have to have it finished by Christmas. Entries are accepted through Jan. 15, 2008. (The contest is for high school and college kids so I'm afraid Mom can't apply).

You might take some time to check out the types of cards they offer to determine the style that would be appropriate as these are largely business-type cards.

Due to popular request, I'm sharing "cowpie assembly" instructions below. Somehow, this is something I never expected to be blogging about. Go figure! They're actually quite simple. (See picture of finished product in prior post)

* Have each child spray some foam insulation onto a paper plate in the "shape" of a cowpie. This stuff is nastier than I thought so you may want to have them wear latex gloves. We (Scouts) managed OK without but you REALLY don't want to touch the stuff while it's wet. (We didn't use the brand below - your local hardware or DIY store will have something. This stuff is intended to seal gaps around windows and such) 

*Let the "pie" dry. This takes an hour or two. Before it dried, I had the boys stick in some pieces of straw to add the the effect. In retrospect. I think I might have them glue on some straw AFTER the pie is painted.

*Paint the cowpie with spray paint.

*The pie will be tightly stuck to the paper plate (good reason to use the cheap/flimsy paper plates). Just pull it off - it doesn't matter if you have some paper stuck to the bottom.

*Display in a place of prominence in your home. Makes a lovely conversation piece!

The Homeschool E-Store is offering a free Modestly Lapbook this week. I downloaded it and it looks pretty good. I think my daughter and I will do a simplified version of it, using only some of the booklets. You can find it HERE.

I've also been considering a Passport to Purity Weekend with my daughter (turning 11 in January). Do any of you have experience with anything like this that you would like to share? Or even just something you've done on your own?

Here are some pics from the last couple weeks of our Konos Obedience study.

We put the castle together today from the link in the below post. Skylar is still working on cutting his out.You can add additional towers and walls to make it as large as you like. And yes, we realize the doors on the towers should be opening INTO the courtyard, not out. But it was too late by the time we recognized our error. Made for good discussion, though, and Brayden doesn't care.

This pic is Skylar and Paige making their 3-D swords. The cross in the middle is raised and Skylar's has bolts around the outer edge. I need to get a pic of the finished product. We painted the field metalic silver and then they added color to the details. Brayden just made a cardboard sheild.

This is a shot of the kids whittling soap - inspired by Robin learning to whittle in A Door In The Wall. Brayden's boat ended up breaking but we had JUST read the part in the story where Robin's cross breaks and he gets angry and throws the chisel. We were able to laugh it off as, "That's the same thing that happened to Robin! I'm glad you didn't act like he did."

My little guy has been crafting away at a Castle for days now. He spends hours each day cutting and taping. While he's done impressively by my standards, he finally experienced frustration today. (I love to let the kids learn by discovery whenever possible and prefer to stay out of the way until they decide they need help) Today, I promised we'd build one together so pulled out the posterboard this evening. I set him to cutting battlements while I took Paige to play practice thinking I'd figure out the details tomorrow.

Back home, with everyone soundly in bed, I did some Googling and found some GREAT resources. (Free, of course) One, for an amazing Castle that I can print right onto cardstock. Check THIS out! I tested a page just to make sure they work well and it's wonderful. Tomorrow I'll print onto cardstock and he can color his walls. We'll then tape them together to make this impressive Castle. I'm sure he'll have lots of fun personalizing it. I think we'll add some extra walls to leave lots of room inside for stables, gardens, etc.

I also found the below items from the Tapestry of Grace site HERE  These are additional activities to go with their curriculum.  There are so many great ideas here! 

The  coloring pages are excellent and my kids will love to tour the amazing  Lego castle. Be sure and click the main link and take advantage of all the great resources offered here!

My 6 y/o guy isn't much into "school". He does what he has to and usually plays or draws while we read. Every once in awhile he'll run over to look at a picture.

Well, he's been fixated on our Middle Ages study. I think he's traced knights from every library book in the basket (and that's a lot of books!). In the last couple of weeks he moved on to creating a cardboard castle. He's doing it all on his own and it's pretty impressive.

This morning, however, he's become a bit frustrated. As I work, he keeps coming in and lamenting the different issues he's having with his project. He keeps trying but was obviously getting somewhat upset over the situation. (I did promise to help him later, he just didn't want to wait)

However, he just poked his head in and said with a smile, "I know!! I'm just like Thomas Edison when he was inventing the lightbulb. He figured it out by doing it wrong a lot of times."

Who knew the kid was even listening?

I did tell him that Edison had the help of his "muckers" and he would have the help of his "mommy" and we'd get it squared away, no doubt!