December Grandview Co-op

This post is a little late since the co-op was on December 4th, but I could not upload the pictures with no computer!  My new laptop arrived this evening, now hopefully I will be able to figure out everything on it!

Anyway, for our monthly homeschool co-op at Grandview, we continued on the topic of the Caddo Indians.  We were a very small group this month.  We talked about the medicines the Caddo Indians made and then were able to make a medicine pouch.

We used a material that was similar to leather, but less expensive and easier to work with.  Each of the children were given an 18 inch square that they could make two small pouches or one big pouch. Almost all of the children chose one big pouch.  We had a circle they had to trace around and then cut out.

Then the children had rulers that they used to measure where the marks went so they could punch out their holes.

Next they used a tool to punch the holes.  This was the hardest part of the project.

Next they had to sew the leather strap though the holes they had punched out.

After that we just had to tighten the leather strap and each child had their pouch!

We will not be having our co-op in January just because of the after Christmas craziness.  But we will start back again in February and hopefully some of those that haven't been able to make it will be able to be back.

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Homeschool Wrap Up Week 14

I'm still without a computer, and do not like blogging on my iPad.  The computer I dropped will not come back to life, and the one my parents ordered for me from Walmart never made it because Walmart cancelled the order on a suspicion of fraud and never notified my mom! So she ordered one from Amazon that will get here this week, and then maybe I can get caught up on a few things!

Week 14 in Our Homeschool

Bible: My files from Grapevine are on the broken computer, so this week we read from a story book Bible every day starting where we left off in our Grapevine Studies with the birth of Isaac. 

Read Aloud: We finished up God's Smuggler.  We also looked up some photos of Brother Andrew because the boys wanted to see what he looked like.  We started the first chapter of The Best Christmas Pageant.

P.E. : We completed lessons 63-66 in Family Time Fitness

History: Nick and Alex finished lessons 34-36 in The Mystery of History Volume IV on Cambodia, and the Civil War parts 1 and 2.  They did the worksheets, memory cards, and timeline, but not the map because I didn't have access to the files.

Science: In Exploring Creation with Anatomy and Physiology we finished chapter 7 on blood.

My Father's World Adventures: This week we finished up Sarah Whitcher's Story.  The boys were fascinated to know it was based on a true story.  We read about George Washington being sworn in as President.  We also looked at photos online of Mt. Vernon. We made some Johnny Cakes ( children were not impressed) and did some experiments with water ( we are waiting for mold to grow.)

Math: Everyone finished up their Math U See lesson 13. 

Grammar/lit/writing : I had a horrible homeschool mom moment this week.  I went to look over Alex's grammar that I haven't looked at in forever and discovered he is more than a little lost.  Shame on me for not discovering it sooner.  I am going to have him work with me Anthony and Christian for awhile on Level One of Fix It! So I can be sure he understands.  We finished lesson 18 of Fix It! 1 and 2. Anthony and Christian did a key word outline on Holsteins in PAL writing.  In case you didn't know that is also from IEW.  It is their early elementary reading and writing.  We started it a few years ago and completed parts 1 and 2 but we're not ready for part 3 so we waited until this year.  It is similar to SWI but a slower gentler approach for younger children.

Reading/Spelling:  Alex completed lesson 12 in Phonetic Zoo.  Anthony and Christian did not do a new spelling list this week.  In AAR Level 3 they completed lesson 12 and lily completed lesson 31 in AAR Level one.

Other Activities This Week

Monday we had to go to Texarkana.  Alex chipped a tooth over Thanksgiving.  Luckily it was a baby tooth and it just had to be pulled. While we were there we went and spent a fortune at SAMs Club, and got to cut down our Christmas tree.  The girls made it to gymnastics but were a few minutes late.

Tuesday we decorated the tree.

Wednesday Nick had youth.  While he was there I took the others to the playground to enjoy some of this nice weather we have been having.

Friday we had a homeschool party.  We met a church and made frozen pizzas and played BINGO.  It was 77 degrees which is unusual for us this time of year. We had a great time.

I hope you had a great week in your homeschool!

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Homeschool Wrap Up Week 13

I dropped my laptop!  It has been dying for a long time and Art has been telling me to spend the money and get a new one, but I really, really did not want to spend the money and was hoping it would last at least until Christmas.  Well I did it in last night and did not have a chance to get all my stuff off of it 😟.  The good news is that my parents bought me one for Christmas and it should be here this week.

I am writing this on my iPad so hopefully it will turn out ok!

Week 13 in Our Homeschool

P.E. We did lessons 56-59 in Family Time Fitness

Bible We completed Lesson 9 of Grapevine Old Testament 1.  I have no idea what we will do next week since those files are lost.

Read Aloud We read chapters 12-15 in God's Secret Agent.

History In The Mystery of History Vol IV Nick and Alex completed lessons 31,32, and 33 on The Eureka Rebellion, Charles Darwin and the Theory of Evolution, and The Continuing Controversy of the Theory of Evolution.  They did the worksheets, timeline figures, and memory cards.  We also watched a DVD about the Theory of Evolution that I reviewed a few months ago from Master Books that went along perfectly with those lessons.

Science Finished up Chapter 6 in Exploring Creation with Anatomy and Physiology.

My Father's World Adventures This week in history we learned about the Declaration of Independence, the first 13 colonies, the first flag, and the start of the Revolutionary War.  In science we learned about water and did some experiments on items that absorbed water.  We continued reading Sarah Whitcher's Story.  We were supposed to make hasty pudding and ink out of crushed berries but I didn't get to it.

Math Everyone finished lesson 12 in their Math U See books.

Grammar/lit/writing Anthony and Christian wrote a key word outline about dairy cows and rewrote the paragraph using the outline.  In Fix It! Grammar 1 and 2 we finished lesson 16.  Nothing new for Nick or Alex.

Reading/Spelling Alex completed lesson 11 in Phonetic Zoo.  The boys finished lesson 11 in AAR Level 3 and step 8 in AAS level 2.  Lily finished lessons 28,29,and 30 in AAR Level 1.  

Horizons Preschool Emmie did lessons 65 and 66 in Horizons Preschool.

Other Activities This Week

Monday the girls had gymnastics.

Wednesday Nick had youth.

Here's some pictures of recess one day.

Thursday Not really an activity, but I was on the phone with my sister in law and looked out the window and this was looking back at me! Our neighbor's pig got out and she couldn't get it back in and she told me it was mean! It was trying to get food from under our rabbit pens and almost flipped them over but luckily she was able to get it back in its own pen.

Friday We did a gingerbread house.

We played at the park for awhile.

We also went to Grandview for our co-op.  We made leather medicine pouches.  The pictures are on my camera so I can't upload them but I will when I get the new computer.

I hope you had a great week in your homeschool!

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Kwik Stix Review and Giveaway!! Great Stocking Stuffer!

I was recently approached by The Pencil Grip Inc to try out their newest product, Kwik Stix.  Kwik Stix are solid tempera paint sticks that dry in 90 seconds.  They are the size of a glue stick and all you need to do to use them  is uncap, twist, and paint. You do not need to add any water. Kwik Stix allow children to paint and be creative with no mess involved.  They look and feel like paint.  Kwik Stix are non-toxic and work well on paper posters, wood, and more.

I tried them out with my 4 and 6 year olds.  They love to paint but sometimes I just done have the time to get them set up and ready to paint.  Then of course there is the clean up. They do try and clean up their own messes, but they are 4 and 6!  With Kwik Stix all I had to do was hand them the paper and they were all set.

They loved painting with the Kwik Stix.  The colors are very bold and vibrant. I don't think my camera did them justice because they are much brighter in person. Lily wanted to make gray so we tried mixing the black and white on the paper by using the black first and painting the white over top and it worked very well.  The paint dried very quickly.

Kwik Stix are about the size of a glue stick, so they are not easy to use for fine details.  Also, while there is no water mess to clean up (big bonus!) if your child paints off of the paper there will be a mess to clean up.  Some spray cleaner and a wet rag cleaned it easily off the table.

My girls have really enjoyed using the Kwik Stix. A few days after I agreed to try out this product, I was on FaceTime with my nephew and he was "painting" with glue sticks.  I told my sister in law about Kwik Stix, they would be perfect for him, and also for her too because it is such an easy way for children to be able to paint on their own.  Kwik Stix would make a great stocking stuffer this Christmas.

The Pencil Grip Inc has several other products including pencil grips and therapeutic toys.  Check out all of the products they offer.

Giveaway!!! Giveaway is now closed!!!!

The lovely people at The Pencil Grip Inc have offered to give a set of 6 Kwik Stix to one of my readers.  This giveaway is open to U.S. Residents only.  To enter the giveaway, just leave me a comment.  Giveaway will close on Wed December 9th 2015.  Please leave a way for me to contact you in your entry such as an email address.  Thanks!!

Disclaimer: I received this product complimentary for the purpose of writing a fair and honest review.  All opinions are my own and I received no other compensation.  I am disclosing this in accordance to FTC regulations.

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Review: Amish Christmas at North Star

"One night four lives entered the world by the hands of an Amish midwife, just outside North Star, Pennsylvania. Rebekah’s Babies, as they are called, are now grown adults and in four heartwarming novellas each young person experiences a journey of discovery, a possibility of love, and the wonder of Christmas."

Amish Christmas in North Star contains 4 novellas by 4 different authors with each one focusing on one of Rebekah's Babies.

Guiding Star by Katie Ganshert

Chase Wellington finds a newspaper article about Rebekah's babies and his part time journalistic curiosity is aroused.  When he discovers one of the babies went missing he starts investigating.  His search leads him to Elle McCallister.  Could she be the missing Amish baby?

Mourning Star by Amanda Flower

A mysterious Amish man's death leads Eden Hochstetler and her friend Gina on an investigation.  Who is responsible? Isaac's nephew, and angry Englischer, or someone else?

In the Stars by Cindy Woodsmall

When Kore's grandmother takes a serious fall, he has to return to home and face the girl who broke his heart.  To help a family in need, he and Savilla have to join forces.  Will he learn the truth about why she broke his heart?

Stars of Grace by Mindy Starns Clark and Emily Clark

Andy left North Star to join an Amish settlement in Mississippi.  His little brother devises a scheme to bring him home for Christmas and while doing so greatly helps a local reclusive widower in greater ways than he imagined.

I love to read Amish fiction and every year I enjoy the holiday novellas that are written.  Amish Christmas at North Star was a great book.  It starts off at an Amish birthing center where one stormy December night 4 babies are born.  25 years later we get to follow their stories in each of these novellas.  Each of the stories had an interesting plot and well developed characters.  They all carried a great message of forgiveness.  All of the stories were tied together very nicely at the end.

The only thing that I found a little disappointing was that In the Stars was similar in plot to another story I have read by Cindy Woodsmall.  It had a bit of a different twist but the basic idea was the same.  If you have not read other books by her, you wouldn't even notice :)

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this book for the purpose of writing a fair and honest review.  I received no other compensation and all opinions are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance to FTC regulations.

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