CHRISTEPHI

I always love reading about what programs other homeschool families use. Sometimes what one person likes you recognize is exactly what you don't like, or what is a disaster for one kid is exactly what another kid needs. I never get tired of that beautiful diversity! This year my little fella will be a big Third Grader. I can hardly believe he's 8 years old. I distinctly remember my third grade year and the public school in Florida that I went to for part of the year.  It's wild to think that my "baby" could have such clear memories of this time frame when he is all grown up. Miss M is having a sort of second year of 6th grade. Although she did 6th grade level work across the board last year, I am in no rush to have her start junior high (and high school right around the corner from that). She's only 11!  So this year she will be advancing in her studies, but we're still calling it 6th grade. Some of her work will be at a 6th grade level and some will b...

One of the most exciting times in a child's life is when they are beginning to unlock the mysteries of the written word. We are just starting to get there with my son. He'll be five soon and has been working his way through our kindergarten curriculum. He's beginning to find -- and read! -- words everywhere! From street signs to grocery store advertisements to picture books to song lyrics. He is beginning both to recognize familiar words and to sound out new-to-him words! I know it won't be long before he develops into a fluent and avid reader, just like his big sister, and just like me! Because Little Guy will soon be reading on his own, I wanted to get him a Bible, God's Holy Word, of his own. Although it is somewhat more difficult than a children's translation, Hubby suggested we get the NKJV for Little Guy since that is what he uses. Like father like son, right? I was very pleased when I received a free copy of the NKJV Adventures Bible from Zondervan . ...

Somewhere along the way I learned about a scheduling method called Sabbath Schooling.  In order to prevent burnout (for the kids or for the mama!), the idea is you schedule six weeks of school followed by one week off, the Sabbath Week! When we first started homeschooling I didn't set out planning to make our school year match the calendar year, but both the kids birthdays are in November and we like to take off plenty of time for the holidays to be with family and attend Thanksgiving and Christmas events.  So it works out best for us to school through the miserably hot summer and have extra time off in the spring and fall when the weather is nice. We finished our last school year just before November and took a 3 month break (our "summer" vacation).  We started our new school year a couple weeks ago, but before I tell you how it's been going, let me share with you our curriculum choices for our new school year. Our core this year is My Father's World's ...

After having been homeschooled through early elementary, my mom put me in public school in the 5th grade.  The school, not having any academic history for me, randomly placed me in the highest level math class (and the lowest level English class).  The first day of class we were given timed tests: 5 minutes to complete a page of 100 addition problems.  Then subtraction.  Then multiplication.  By then I was getting in over my head.  I understood that multiplication was essentially a form of addition, so I started frantically making hash marks to count up to the answers.  I didn't finish my 100 problems, but I struggled through the 5 minutes and did the best I could.  Next we were given a page of 100 division problems.  By this time I was completely overwhelmed and burst into tears.  The teacher gently ushered me next door to the lowest level math class where I spent the rest of the year, cheerfully using my multiplication cheat shee...

I love languages! In college, I majored in Linguistics, which I found completely fascinating.  I took courses in several languages including Spanish, Russian and Mandarin Chinese.  Sadly, I've never become fluent -- or even conversational -- in any language other than my native English.  There are so many advantages to being ability to speak a foreign language both personally and professionally.  I want that for my children.  But it can be intimidating!  How do I teach what I myself haven't mastered?  The right curriculum can remove much of that intimidation. www.spanish-for-you.net When I first opened the  Spanish for You!  book, I was impressed!  Here was an affordable year-long Spanish language program that can be used for a range of ages at the same time.  It presents material to students in a spiraling fashion so that regardless of a student's prior experience with Spanish they'll ...

I've run into We Choose Virtues a time or two on my journeys through the blogosphere, but each time it goes something like this: Oh wow, that looks great! We could really use something like that.   --click on website--   Whoa, the Homeschool Kit is a hundred bucks! And the Family Kit is seventy.  Whew, it looks great, but...  Well, I'd really love to, but...  That's too bad, I would have really liked to use something like this.   --close website-- So you can imagine my delight when I found out I was going to get to review some products from We Choose Virtues for free!  That delight has only grown...and grown...and grown!  Just when I think I've gotten a complete grasp of the Virtues program, I discover another delightful tidbit.  For example, did you know that each Virtue Kid has a name that corresponds with the beginning sound of that Virtue?   H at Matt for H elpful, O boe Joe for O bedient.  This makes it easy ...