Life Update

It's been a while since I've posted, but I'm really wanting to get back into blogging regularly. How many times have I said that? I do miss blogging about our homeschool adventures. So many things have happened lately that I wanted to share a life update!

Our Christmas Card photo for 2022

Zoey Mae

Zoey was born September 23, 2022 weighing 7 pounds 11 ounces. She has been such a sweet baby, easy-going most of the time and so happy! She is 7 months old now, just got her first tooth in, and is trying to figure out how to crawl! She adds a little excitement to our homeschool days, and I'm reading to start Baby School with her (sensory bins, board books, Bible songs). 

Eli's Graduating!

It's so hard to believe that I have a second child graduating this year. Eli plans to attend Louisiana Tech in the fall, majoring in agribusiness. He had his Honors Banquest last week, a Senior Banquet next week, and an Athletic Banquet the day after Graduation. Graduation is May 19. We are also having a party for him at church on the 17th. We surprised him with a brand-new truck for his graduation gift! He has driven my old Yukon XL the past two years without complaining (much), and he needed a reliable vehicle to get him back and forth to college (it's nearly two hours away). We are really proud of him.

Mikaela's Having another Baby!

Mikaela is due October 13 with a baby girl, my second grandchild! Her name is going to be Mikenna. It is so exciting to be a grandmother, or "MaeMae" as Daniel calls me. They just moved back to be closer to family. She is going to be doing online classes the next three years and major in education. We do need teachers here!

Mercie's Homeschooling Again!

Mercie had a year in public school this year and decided she would much rather homeschool! She had lots of friends, played basketball, and kept good grades, but she really misses all the time she had when she was homeschooling. She had much more time with her horses! She's been in a few rodeos lately, and our town's annual Rodeo is this weekend. She is riding Friday night! We look forward to this rodeo all year. 

She won second place in the annual Queen's Contest at our Rodeo Arena this year.

Homeschool Highlights

I've posted our End of Year Curriculum Thoughts for Silas and Titus. We really had a fantastic year this year, considering all of the distractions and interruptions! I'm looking forward to having all my school-age kids homeschool next year. Here are a few of the contests the boys entered for 4H and the homeschool group we were a part of:

Titus made a Yoda Valentine Box for the Homeschool Group's Valentine Party! It says "Yoda Best Valentine!"

Silas made this massive alligator for the Valentine Party, and won first place! He won a $20 WalMart gift card. 

4H Dairy Billboard Contest - 1st in his division

4H Dairy Billboard Contest - 1st in his division

4H Beef Poster Contest - 1st in his division (Silas)

4H Beef Poster Contest - 2nd in his division

Random Life Pictures:

Easter Picture

Titus is playing baseball this year, and he led the team in prayer a few times.

Lunch date with my almost teenager.

Hopefully I will blog regularly now. How has your year been?

End of Year Curriculum Thoughts - 5th Grade

I'm putting down my thoughts on our curriculum from this past school year as we are bringing it to a close. I wrote about Silas's 7th grade curriculum last week, and today I'm going to write about Titus's 5th grade curriculum. 

Titus - 5th grade

MATH: Math Lessons for a Living Education 5 by Master Books

Titus has used this series from Book 1, and it's been a great fit for him. The lessons are short yet thorough with plenty of review thrown in here and there. The series starts off pretty slow, but the speed picks up around Book 3. This was perfect for Titus, as he didn't need any rigorous math until then. Titus enjoyed using this except for the copywork! (For the record, I liked the copywork because I feel like it helps to cement the rules in your memory.) He also didn't read the stories at the beginning of each unit because he thought they were boring.

That said, we have decided to forgo Book 6 and jump straight into Saxon Math with Nicole the Math Lady. Silas had such a good experience that I feel like Titus needs to go ahead and start with Saxon 6/5 next year. He has also been asking to go ahead and use "the Math Lady"!

Verdict: 9/10

I will continue to use Math Lessons for a Living Education with Zeke and Zoey when they get old enough. I like the gentle introduction to math and the short lessons, and the series has proven to be effective since I've used this with several of my children. 

LITERATURE: Progeny Press Literature Guides

As I said with Silas, we love these literature guides from Progeny Press! Titus used Charlotte's Web and The Sword in the Tree this year. I like everything about these guides, although we don't always do the extra activities. If something catches Titus's eye, he will do it, but otherwise we stick to the main sections. The guides give vocabulary lessons, critical thinking, reading comprehension, and "Dig Deeper" questions that go into Biblical lessons. They really cover so much and do it well.

Verdict: 10/10

I'm excited to choose two more books and guides for Titus to use next year! I plan to do two literature guides with the kids each year through high school.

GRAMMAR: Language Lessons for a Living Education 5 by Master Books

This was a pretty solid language arts curriculum that followed a predictable routine each week. Monday was reading comprehension and writing skills, Tuesday and Wednesday were grammar practice, Thursday was reading a Bible story with copywork and drawing, and Friday was spelling. At first, we did all lessons each week, but then I started just doing Tuesday through Thursday, skipping Monday and Friday lessons. I felt like they weren't beneficial to Titus, although he did enjoy reading the Bible stories.

Verdict: 6/10

We won't be using this again next year. I don't like it enough to continue the series.

GRAMMAR: Language Smarts E by Critical Thinking Co.

This was a book we used for a review, and I continued using it with Titus because it's a fantastic book. The activities are fun and engaging, and it covers such a wide variety of topics. He's finished more than half of the book, and we will continue using it over the summer to finish it up. For around $40, it's a great bargain!

Verdict: 10/10

We're going to continue with this book until he completes it.

SCIENCE: God's Design for Heaven and Earth by Master Books

These textbooks are great, full of beautiful, full-color pictures and tons of information. Most of the activities Titus really enjoyed doing. He wanted to do them all! The worksheets that go along with it are not that great. I think I could use these books and create my own worksheets and it would be a much more engaging experience. I'm not sure what we are doing for science next year, but I don't see us using this series. Although we started off loving it, we would up skipping the last few chapters.

Verdict: 7/10

The textbook is really nice, but the worksheets are lacking.

HISTORY: America's Story Volume 1 by Master Books

Again, the textbook is pretty nice, but the worksheets are boring. The activities are silly sometimes, and most of the writing exercises included writing letters or diary entries. Titus tired of those quickly. Some of the reading was boring, but most of it was interesting. He did enjoy finding the locations on maps and globes. Titus remembered a few things, but not as much as I hoped he would. We didn't finish this curriculum, but we got over 3/4 completed!

Verdict: 6/10

Exactly how I feel about the science. We will be going with something different next year.

I really feel like Titus had a great 5th grade year overall, considering I had a new baby in September and a four year old tagging along with us. I feel like he had a lot of growth in his handwriting, math skills, reading, and learning to work independently. I haven't decided what we are going to be using next year, but I'm deep in the "research" mindset right now!

End of Year Curriculum Thoughts - 7th grade

It's so hard to believe that our school year is coming to a close! Silas is finishing up 7th grade, Titus is finishing 5th, and Zeke had a great preschool year. I always like to put down my thoughts on the curriculum that we used and how it worked for us. I'll start with Silas.

Silas - 7th grade 

MATH: Saxon 7/6 with Nicole the Math Lady subscription

I am so thankful we found Nicole the Math Lady! She "teaches" math for me and does such an excellent job! Silas has learned so much this year, and he says that the Nicole the Math Lady videos have really helped him to understand the math concepts this year. It has taken a load off of my shoulders, especially with a new baby in the house. 

I also really like Saxon Math. There are plenty of review problems each lesson so he doesn't get rusty on math concepts. I don't always make him do all 30 problems since it takes him a few hours to do math each day. I will assign him odds or evens, and he loves when I do that! He also inputs all of his answers online and it immediately tells him if it's right or wrong. He gets six attempts for most problems, and the 'grading' gives me the percentage he got right on first attempt and the percentage he got right using all six attempts. 

Verdict: 10/10

We are absolutely using Saxon Math with Nicole the Math Lady videos for all three of my older kids next year!

LITERATURE: Progeny Press Literature Guides

  

This is something we have used year after year because they're really great literature guides! This year Silas used Number the Stars and Where the Red Fern Grows. He enjoys using them and I love how thorough they are! They're also very easy for the boys to use on their own. This is a product that I recommend to others!

Verdict: 10/10

I will assign the boys each two more literature guides next year! It's always fun getting to choose which books to use.

HISTORY: The World's Story by Master Books

There are things I liked about this and things I didn't like. I think what we didn't like the most was the worksheets. The questions were pretty silly sometimes and hard to answer - not because the answer was hard but because they made you imagine you were in certain places or time periods and write a letter or diary entry or story about it. Silas wasn't into all of those question for history. He wanted more questions with concrete answers. He didn't retain as much as I would have liked. We actually dropped history a few weeks ago without finishing the last few chapters. 

Verdict: 4/10

The book was not bad. I should have written my own worksheets and activities and we would have enjoyed it more. 

SCIENCE: God's Design for the Physical World by Master Books

Again, there are things we liked and things we didn't like. For the most part, we enjoyed reading the lessons. Sometimes there was a lot of information presented at a time. At first Silas loved doing the experiments daily, but that got to be too much. We just picked a few a week to do after that. The worksheets were boring and again, I just wish that I would have made my own worksheets for Silas to use. If we use this science again (and we may!) I will create my own worksheets and activities, picking and choosing which experiments to do based on how beneficial and fun they will be. 

Verdict: 8/10

The main problem for us was the worksheets and the abundance of experiments. I would also not let his be done independently as I feel like he would retain much more if we read it together.

GRAMMAR: Even-Moor Language Fundamentals

I really liked this book for Silas! He did one or two pages a day just to keep himself familiar with grammar, punctuation, and usage rules. It took him less than ten minutes to complete. He still has some pages left, so he will probably finish it up over the summer. It was $30, but well worth it. 

Verdict: 10/10

I will order one for Titus to use next year! That's how much I liked it. The short lessons were very thorough and covered so many different topics. It was just the right amount each day!

It's so hard to believe that I will be researching and ordering curriculum again soon. We already know which math and literature we will be using, so science and history are the only things I'm really trying to figure out. I'm also considering if I want to combine them for a subject, since we haven't done Family Style Learning in a few years. I miss doing it that way! 

Have you used any of these before? 

Otter B Free: Christian Picture Books! TOS Review

Disclosure: I received this complimentary product through the Homeschool Review Crew.

I am very careful with the media that is presented to my almost-four-year-old son, Zeke. These days, you not only have to be careful with the TV shows and movies geared toward this age group, but also the books. There are so many books, even picture books targeting the preschool age, with messages that are contrary to my family's core Christian beliefs. This is one reason I was excited to receive Otter B Free from Focus on the Family to read to Zeke.

Otter B is a series of children's picture books that present biblical values and character traits using a fun story and adorable characters. In Otter B Free, Otter B and his friends are gearing up for a fun Fourth of July Field Day - and the big, shiny trophy the winner received! Otter B doesn't think he has a chance of winning because his friend Felicia is the best at every event. When Otter B hears that Felicia has broken her foot and can't compete, he starts practicing every day in hopes that he will win the big trophy! However, seeing Felicia sitting all alone at Field Day makes Otter B realize there are more important things that winning, like friendship. All of the friends, including Felicia, work together to win - and share - the gold trophy! 

This hard cover book is such a cute, fun read for young children. The pictures are cartoonish and adorable, the pages are thick and glossy, and the storyline includes biblical values that I want to instill in my children. At the end of the book, there is a little poem and a scripture that reinforces the topic of the book. This series is definitely preschooler-friendly!

There are ten books in the Otter B series, including Otter B Kind, Otter B Thankful, and Otter B Brave. These would make great Christmas gifts for the young children in your life! Check out what other reviewers thought of this book by clicking the banner below!

Audio Adventures with Jonathan Park! TOS Review

Disclosure: I received this complimentary product through the Homeschool Review Crew.

Do you know the difference in an audio book and an audio story? I'll confess that I didn't know there was a difference until I started listening to Jonathan Park, The Adventure Begins, Series 1! Here is the difference: An audio book is simply a book that is read by a narrator. There are many benefits for kids listening to audio books. But an audio story is totally different! According to their website, these stories are like "movies for your ears" complete with actors, composers, engineers, and writers. Listening to these audio stories is a whole new experience for my kids! 

We received The Adventure Begins, Series 1 which includes four albums with three episodes each. The episodes run around 20-26 minutes in length, so each album is around an hour or a little more. This set contains over five hours of the adventure for your family to listen to. Plus, there are 19 different series!

Jonathan Park is a Biblical, Creation-based audio story that includes science topics and Biblical concepts in the story. Some of the science topics in this series are the Evolutionary Tree, convergent evolution, the laws of energy, and the water cycle. The Biblical take-aways are returning good for evil, showing kindness, and the consequences of sin. I am very interested in Creation-based science and from the very first episode, I was intrigued. 

This series is action-packed and full of adventure, mystery, and excitement! It genuinely keeps my kids' attention - and that's not an easy task. There are so many interesting facts presented in the episodes, great sound effects, talented voices, and a fast-moving storyline. 

Click the image to learn more about Jonathan Park!

Listening to this audio story has been a new experience for my kids. Even Titus, my 10-year-old who has trouble focusing due to large amounts of energy, has really enjoyed listening to this. He even commented, "They need to make this into a movie!" I responded with, "It's a movie for your ears." My energetic three-year-old, Zeke, even sat on the couch and listened to the story. 

I am very impressed with The Adventure Begins from Jonathan Park! Right now, The Adventure Begins, Series 1 is on sale from $59.99 to $24.99. Jonathan Park is also offering free shipping to the US by using the code jpcrew22 at checkout. This is a great deal, so don't let it pass you up! Click the banner below to see what other Crew members thought about this amazing audio story.