4 H Dairy Contest

Every year our county 4 H has a Dairy Foods Contest.  Children ages 5-19 can enter in one or both of the categories: party idea or main dish.  Actually, it used to be an Egg and Dairy Foods Contest. I liked that better as it gave two more options of categories to enter.  The last two years we have not participated.  Last year a couple of the children were sick and the year before we had someplace else we had to be.  We drop off the foods, leave for about an hour and a half and then come back for awards.

Since the three younger children were making things that were refrigerated they made theirs on Sunday.  Anthony, Alex, and Nick made theirs Monday afternoon.  I did not get a picture of Nick and Alex's finished products because they came out of the oven right when we needed to walk out the door.

This year, Emmie was old enough to participate.  She was so excited! It was her first 4 H contest. She made Banana Split Pie and won 2nd place for Cloverbud Party Idea.

Lily made a Strawberry Smoothie.  She won 3rd place for Cloverbud Party Idea.

Christian made Strawberry Ice Box Cake.  He won 2nd place Junior Party Idea.

Anthony made Cheesy Pizza.  He got a Participation Ribbon for Junior Party Idea.

Alex made Egg Casserole.  He won 1st Place for Junior Main Dish.

Nick made Shells and Cheese.  He won 2nd Place Senior Main Dish.

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Homeschool Wrap Up Week 29

Mondays have been rough days in this house lately!  Bad attitudes have played a big part, not just in the children, but me as well. Hopefully next week will get off to a better start.  We did not have a full week of school again this week.  We missed one afternoon and one full day.  Next week though we should be able to do school every day.

Week 29 in our Homeschool

P.E.: We did two days of yoga and one day of Family Time Fitness.

Bible: We finished lessons 7 and 8 in Grapevine Studies, The Resurrection.

Read Aloud: We read two chapters of YWAM Heroes of History, Thomas Edison.

History: We finished lessons 79-81 in The Mystery of History Vol IV on The Collapse of The Soviet Union, The Breakup of Yugoslavia, and Nelson Mandela President of South Africa.  We caught up on the memory cards and timeline figures that we missed from last week and completed this week's. The boys still have to complete the worksheets.

Science: We read chapter 8 of The Archaeology Book.  Also I started The Book of Astronomy with Anthony (upcoming review.)

My Father's World Adventures: We finished On the Banks of Plum Creek.  In Exploring American History we read about Abraham Lincoln.  In our state study we learned about Oregon.  In Science we read about Meadowlarks and how materials change.

Art: Anthony and Christian made 3 D cubes and pyramids out of corrugated cardboard.

Music: We completed the Week 3 Handel activities for Music Appreciation Book One for the Elementary Grades from Zeezok (upcoming review) We read chapter 3 in the biography, listened to 3 different tracks on the CD, completed the workbook pages and the lapbook activities,

Math: Math has gotten a little crazy,  Some of the children have been continuing forward while others have been reviewing.  Nick and Alex completed lesson 27 in their books.  Lily completed lesson 26 in her book.  Anthony and Christian are still reviewing lesson 25, but I think they almost have it!

Grammar/Writing/Literature/Poetry: We started a new product from IEW called Linguistic Development Through Poetry Memorization (upcoming review.)  All of the children can use this program.  All ages are supposed to start with Level One and it only takes a couple minutes a day.  We listen to a poem on CD and then work on memorizing it.  We memorized two poems this week.  In Fix It! Grammar we completed lesson 31.  Alex completed 3 lesson of Writer's in Residence (upcoming review.) Nick is still working on Treasure Island.  Anthony and Christian did a key word outline on horses.

Reading/Spelling: Anthony and Christian completed lessons 37,38, and 39 in AAR Level 3.  Lily completed lesson 15 in AAR Level 2.  She also earned her third certificate in Talking Fingers.  Spelling didn't happen.

Preschool: Emmie is still working on her ABC book and completed some worksheets from Horizon's Preschool.

Other Activities the Week:

Monday: Soccer was rained out.

Wednesday: We had Kid's Club.

Thursday: We went to Mid America Science Museum with some friends.  We also had to make a quick run to Sams.  We made it home in time to make supper and head out to soccer.  Alex had a 6 o'clock game and Christian had a 7 o' clock  game.

Friday: We stayed home.  I got some housework caught up and we did a little school work.



I hope you had a great week in your homeschool!

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Schoolhouse Crew Review: Talking Fingers Inc.

I first had an opportunity to review Read, Write & Type from Talking Fingers Inc. back in 2010 with Nick and Alex who were then 8 and 6. (you can find that review here.  My boys look so little!) I was delighted to have a chance to review this program again with my 6 year old daughter, Lily.            Read, Write & Type is an online reading program that includes phonics, spelling, reading, punctuation, and typing through a series of engaging activities.  There are 40 lessons in the Read, Write & Type program which is geared for children around ages 6-8 who are just learning to read, ESL students, or students of any age who are struggling in reading or writing.  The child is guided through the program by Lefty and Rightway while trying to stop Vexor the Villain from stealing the letters.  
Each lesson has a similar format. The letter that the child is working on is shown along with which finger to type it with/  Lefty or Rightway models typing the letter then the child types the letter while listening to the sound.  In the next game they are shown different pictures.  If the picture starts with the sound of the letter they type the letter, if not they type the space bar.  Then they play another game finding the letter sound at the end of the word.  If the child gets the answer wrong, the game tells then the correct answer.  They are given another opportunity to get the answer correct.   They then move on to typing practice with the letter and short words. First they are shown the letters and words and have to type them.  After that a picture is shown and they type the word.  Then they type out a short story.  The pictures are animated and the game reads the story to the child.  They then earn the letter.  It takes around 15-20 minutes to complete all of the activities for each letter.
After every 4 letters, the child earns a certificate that can be printed out.  They also do a spaceship challenge review that has them doing different typing and comprehension activities.  The game also has an email tower that allows the children to type short stories and letters and "email" them to different places and receive something back.  
Parents can see a report that shows how their child is doing by logging into the parent account. Grades are given for each level (1-10)  in phonics, spelling, reading, and average.  
When we logged in for the first lesson, the theme song started playing and Nick and Alex both came into the room and said, "Hey I remember that game!"  The game has not changed at all since we reviewed it last.  Lily is enjoying it just as much as they did when they used it.  She is a very strong reader but she still enjoys the games, and the typing practice is great.  In addition to learning to type the letters, they also learn how to use capitals in a sentence and type punctuation.  She thinks the characters and the stories are cute.  I had her do one lesson at a time (about 15-20 minutes a day) but the pace is completely up to you.  I usually do not like to do online programs because I think the children get enough screen time as it is, but Read, Write & Type is a really good program and worth the time Lily spends on it each day.  She loves earning her certificates and has them hanging on her wall. Some of the images are a little dated.  Lily was shown a picture today of an old computer disk and she had no idea what it was.  She did figure out how to type it correctly after they said the word.  If you have a child who is a struggling reader, you may have to sit with them and assist as needed, if they are fairly confident, they will be able to work on the program on their own.  
To see what my Crew Mates had to say, stop by the Crew Blog!

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Schoolhouse Crew Review: Homeschool Copywork

Are you familiar with the term copywork?  Some people think copywork is just handwriting practice but it really is much more than that.  Copywork teaches children grammar, spelling, punctuation, handwriting, and reading comprehension, while exposing them to different writing techniques by using carefully selected passages for them to copy. Recently we were given an opportunity to review the Lifetime Membership to Homeschool Copywork.

Homeschool Copywork has three different levels of membership.  You can sign up for a free membership that gives you access to a limited selection of free copywork. The one year membership ($29.95) gives you access to everything on the site for one full year.  The Lifetime Membership ($45) gives you full access to everything on the site for as long as Homeschool Copywork exists.
There are currently 54 different ebooks  on the Homeschool Copywork site plus bonus notebooking pages and coloring pages with more being added.  Once you sign up and create your login you can search the copywork that is listed in three categories: Early Elementary Copywork, Upper Elementary Copywork, and Junior High/High School Copywork.  Some of the copywork can be found in multiple categories. There is also a Bonus Products section.  After you choose the selections you are interested in, you simply download them and print them out.
Some of the copywork you will find includes:
Artist Studies Hymn Studies Quotes of Composers Poetry Presidential Quotes Bible Verses Holiday and Special Occasion Quotes of Scientists and Inventors 18th Century Authors Short Stories Transportation and Alphabet
Plus bonus notebooking or coloring pages on:
Human Life Dogs Sharks Leaves Birds Transportation Valentine's Day Ninjas
The copybooks have a variety of handwriting styles including: Lined Print, D'Nealian Lined Print, Lined Cursive, Print without the middle dashed line, and Cursive without the middle dashed line.   Each copybook contains information on what is being featured, several different selections to copy, and drawings or artwork.
I went though the site and chose several different selections to download and print out.  The first thing we started working on was the Animal Alphabet Copywork Pages.  I printed this book out for my 5 year old.  Each of the 26 pages in this book has a picture of an animal that starts with that letter of the alphabet and a short sentence such as : "B is for Bird."    

We also have been using the Leonardo da Vinci Artist Study and Copywork. It is 45 pages long.  The first page gives information on Leonardo da Vinci and some suggested hands on activities you could do to go along with the study.  It has 6 different quotes in lined print, , D'Nealian Lined Print, Lined Cursive, print, and cursive.  At the bottom of each page is a colored illustration of a piece of Leonardo da Vinci's artwork.  

I also have downloaded and looked through the John James Audubon Copywork and Bird Coloring Pages, All Creatures Hymn Study and Copywork, Dragons of the Bible, Human Body Notebooking Pages, and The Story of the Rainbow Copywork.  We studied John James Audubon last year and this copywork would have gone along great with that study.  I do wish some of his illustrations would've been included rather than the black and white bird drawings. I think that my children would love the Dragons of the Bible copywork so I am adding that to our to do list soon!  We have never done a hymn study before and I think that would be a great addition to our homeschool.
There is a wonderful selection of copywork on the Homeschool Copywork website.  You can easily find what you are looking for if there is a specific topic you need, or you can scroll easily through all of the available options.  I like the variety of handwriting types and lines provided.  You could some of the same copywork for older and younger children and print the pages with either the print or cursive for each individual child. All of the selections I looked through had either artwork on each page, or drawings that the children can color.  I think that adds a really nice touch and allows each child to make their copybooks beautiful and more personalized.  
I only have a black and white printer.  Although the copywork itself only needs a black and white printer, for the artist study books and others with colored illustrations it would be beneficial to print those out in color.  The artwork that is included is just beautiful and it is not the same in black and white!
To see what my Crew Mates had to say, stop by the Crew Blog!

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Homeschool Wrap Up Week 28

We did not get as much school done this week as we usually do.  One day this week we missed morning school work (that was planned.) Another day I knew we were going to be gone in the afternoon but I had thought we would still get our morning work done.  Then reality set in when I realized we had a ton of things that needed to be done around the house before we could leave so we just skipped it.  Next week we will have to do a little catch up.  I did not take many pictures this week.

Week 28 in our Homeschool

P.E.: One day yoga and one day of Family Time Fitness.

Bible: We started lesson 7 of Grapevine Studies, The Resurrection.

Read Aloud: We read one chapter of YWAM Heroes of History: Thomas Edison.

History: We finished the reading of lessons 76-78 in The Mystery of History Vol IV on The Assassination of Anwar Sadat, The Fall of the Berlin Wall, and Saddam Hussein and the Persian Gulf War.  They will have to complete the rest of the activities next week.

Science: Didn't happen

My Father's World Adventures: In Pioneers and Patriots we read about the Sante Fe Trail, Oregon Trail, and California Trail.  In our state study we completed California and Minnesota.  Our science topic was solids, liquids, and gases.  We continued reading On the Banks of Plum Creek.

Art: Didn't get to it.

Music: We completed the Week 2 Handel activities for Music Appreciation Book One for the Elementary Grades from Zeezok.  We read aloud a chapter from the biography on Handel, listened to three different tracks on the CD, completed the workbook activities and a lapbook activity.

Math: Nick, Alex, and Lily completed Lesson 26.  Anthony and Christian worked on extra worksheets I made using the worksheet generator.

Grammar/Writing/Literature: We completed lesson 30 of Fix It! Grammar.  Alex completed 4 lessons in Writer's In Residence.  Nick is still reading though Treasure Island.  Anthony and Christian did a key word outline and paragraph on Sheepdogs.

Reading/Spelling: This week Anthony and Christian completed lessons 34,35, and 36 of AAR Level 3.  Lillian completed lessons 14,15, and 16 of AAR Level 2.  Spelling didn't happen.

Preschool: Emmie is still working on her ABC book from Homeschool Copywork and some worksheets from Horizon's Preschool.

Anthony made this Minecraft guy out of paper. He used the Math U See blocks to measure.

Other Activities this Week:

Monday: The girls had their last gymnastics class for this year.  I had a homeschool meeting I needed to attend after gymnastics so the girls went with me.  Christian had a soccer game so Art picked the boys up from gymnastics and took all the boys to soccer.

Tuesday: Alex had soccer practice.

Wednesday: The girls had their hair cut and their nails painted at a salon.  It was Emmie's first hair cut.  Lily has had hers trimmed a few times before. (we just trimmed some off the back to even it up and trimmed their bangs)They loved it!

We also had Kid's Club.

Thursday: We had an opportunity to see the play How the Camel Got His Hump.  The theater is about an hour drive from the house and the show was about an hour.  It was a really good play.  All of the children enjoyed it except my oldest son.  After the play we had ice cream and had to run several errands.  We used our last Book It coupons and grabbed some pizza and headed to the park to play while we waited for soccer to start.  Christian and Alex both had games at the same time so we sat between the fields to watch them both.

Friday: The 4 H Awards Banquet.  I had to use my phone to take pictures because my camera was dead!! Lillian and Christian received a Cloverbud Award for completing their journals.  They also served as greeters.  Alex gave a speech about his experience last summer at CSI Camp.  Nick, Alex, and Anthony all won District Record Book Awards.  They each got a t-shirt and a pin.  At the District O' Rama they will also get trophies.  Anthony and Nick also won County Champion.  Points are awarded for everything 4 H that you participate in.  Every year they choose the top 4 and give them a County Champion Award.  You can only win it once every three years.  Nick has won once before so he got a hoody.  This was Anthony's first time to win so he won a duffle bag with his name on it.  I was very proud of all the children!  Now that Emmie is old enough to be a Cloverbud she can do a journal next year.

We are trying to get some things ready to plant in the garden.  We already planted our beans and squash that grew in our garden in a glove experiment.  We also planted our Pizza Garden from our Ecosystem in a bottle.  Lily, Emmie, and I planted several different types of seeds today, and I have been working on getting the garden ready.

I hope you had a great week in your homeschool!

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