Homeschool Convention Finds

I'll start by saying that I still love My Father's World and we're sticking with it!  But, I'm very much impressed with many other unit studies out there!  Since we enjoy lapbooking, I was particurarly intrigued with the Time Travelers History Study Series that is available on CD in five different studies: New World Explorers, Colonial Life, The American Revolution, The Early 19th Century, and The Civil War.  They also have great timeline material and other activity packs available.  I didn't get any even though I was so tempted!  I'm trying not to do too much impulse buying!  Although, with this one, I keep thinking about it and I went back to their booth three times!  Something to think about!

Another thing that made an impression on me are games from Family Game Coach.  In particular, the geography games would have been perfect to use during our current school year, since we're in MFW Countries & Cultures.  They had a pretty good special but they were still more than I was willing to spend, but the wheels started turning as I thought about how fun it might be for the kids and I to spend some time during the summer creating our own games!  Could be fun and they'll be learning without even realizing it!

I ordered our RightStart materials for next year (which I actually plan to start one as soon as we get it and the other during the summer).  I only had to buy the worksheet books and some manipulatives since a friend is lending me her lesson books.

Rainbow Resource had a giant booth there but didn't have most of the materials I needed, so I placed an order.  Thankfully, all these companies offered free shipping when you order at the convention!  So from RR, I ordered McGuffey's Parent/Teacher Guide and two Spectrum Spelling books, one for each child.  I did buy a Parent/Teacher Guide for Intermediate Language Lessons that will be useful once we start on that book.

The only other purchase I made (besides a yummy burrito at Chipotle and some ice cream!) was a Kids Love Travel book.  The authors of these books spend lots of time travelling and have compiled loads of great places to visit into books on each state.  No more countless hours on the internet searching for neat, family friendly field trips, weekend trips, vacations, etc.!  It's all in the book.  I only purchased the book on our state for now but would love to get the surrounding states too.

I think that covers it.  It certainly was a lot to take in - I went all three days!  Being gone so much, away from the family, gave me a much needed break and revived me!  I'm excited and feel energized.  I hope it sticks through the rest of our school year!!!

Unexpected Field Trip

Our week started with a non-traditional Easter meal of New York Strip steaks, macaroni salad, corn, and fruit.  That's right - no ham!  My father-in-law marinated and grilled the steaks to perfection and my mother-in-law made a delicious lemon cake for dessert.  Dinner was followed by an egg hunt for the kids and I later took the dogs for a walk after feeling guilty for eating so much!  All in all, it was a beautiful and relaxing day.

On Monday, Emily woke up at 5am with an asthma attack and had a series of them throughout the day.  We went to co-op, taking her rescue meds with us, just in case.  By 2pm, she had four breathing treatments, turned ghostly white, and still struggled to breath normally.  We went home and she started vomiting.  My first thought was that she had strep throat, so I planned on calling the doctor first thing in the morning.  But, by 9pm, Emily was really struggling to breath and I decided it was time for a field trip....to the emergency room!

Thankfully, we are close to Children's Hospital.  There was no waiting for hours, they took her right in and almost immediately started her on oxygen.  Her oxygen was at 87% when we got there and she was dehydrated.  She was given zophran for the vomiting & nausea and then an IV with fluids and added antibiotics after diagnosing her with pneumonia.  By 2am, her color began to return and she finally cracked a smile.  By morning, the nurses were able to reduce the amount of oxygen they were giving her and within a few hours, they took her off completely.  By this time, she looked so much better.  She was released around 6pm on Tuesday.  Needless to say, we did not have school that day!

Wednesday was spent recovering from the previous two days and Thursday afternoon I volunteered at our local Homeschool Convention while my hubby stayed home with the kiddos.  Friday, I took Emily to her doctor for a follow-up, which went fine.  We met my hubby for lunch and while he stayed home with the kids (again), I went back to the conference to browse through the exhibit hall full of curriculum vendors.

As you can see, we had a very busy week and accomplished very little schooling.  I'm starting to wonder if we'll be catching up in the summer.??  I was hoping to complete our studies by the end of May but I'm not seeing that happen!  I already decided to continue math through the summer (and reading, of course), but hadn't planned on anything else.  My plans may change now.

I sure hope that others had a more productive, less eventful week than mine!

Another Great Find

Stepping Stones to Literature by Sarah Louise Arnold and Charles B. Gilbert

I stumbled upon this book at the antique mall that has a copyright of 1902 (the original was 1897).  I told you I love old books!  It's loaded with quality lessons and says something I find interesting in the preface: "It is believed that the mastery of the new word is most easily achieved when the word is studied as it occurs in the text rather than apart from it."  So, it gives words for study after each reading.  I like this because the lessons put words into context before introducing them as words for study, giving them meaning, which ultimately helps children to understand them better, and probably remember them better.  I'm thinking of using this in conjunction with our Spectrum Spelling book.  We'll see.  I'm just happy to have found such great books!

McGuffey Eclectic Primer

I found the Eclectic Primer and Pictorial Eclectic Primer at an antique mall today that I purchased for our K graduate at a good price.  Interestingly, they were written by William H. McGuffey who was a professor at Miami University in Oxford, OH, where I grew up and went to college.  I even attended the McGuffey Foundation school in 5th grade!  I had no idea who this man was until I picked the books up and read the publisher's preface.

Rainbow Resource sells two versions of these books. Does anyone know the difference between them?  One version looks just like the ones I bought, pictured above.  Is the content the same?  The copy I bought says that it is presented in a more readable form but the stories, poems, and pictures appear as they did in the first edition.  So, I assume that this is close to the original.  I'm not sure about the others.  I would greatly appreciate any information anyone could provide!

Aside from my questions, I think I'm going to like using these.  I want to collect them all (I think), so I'll definitely be looking for them at used sales, book stores, and flea markets!  I don't know why I'm drawn to these older books; I just love them!

Our Kindergarten Gratuate

The little peanut is done with Kindergarten!  She worked hard and finished early because she wanted to be in first grade by her birthday.  She made it and is very proud of herself!  I knew she would finish K early this year, so I purchased MFW 1st Grade back in the fall.  Starting a new grade is always a challenge for me.  I'm hoping this is a smooth transition.  Have any of my fellow bloggers gone from MFW-K to 1st?  I'd like to hear from you about the transition between the two!

I'll post pictures soon of the proud peanut!

Summer Math ???

Just a thought.  I've heard some say that they sprinkle some math in over the summer months in order to keep it fresh.  I'm thinking about doing this.  Nothing too formal.  Just thought we could do one to three lessons a week and maybe that will help us ease into a full schedule in the fall.  Can you believe I'm already thinking of fall?  Any thoughts???

Penguin Lapbook

This is the lapbook we completed a few weeks ago when Katie was on the letter Pp.  It was a rough start but once we got going, things began to fall into place.  In the end, I'm glad we did it.

Lapbook Cover

First opened page.  The left side is the back of the cover.  The illustration shows stages of a penguins life.  The picture on the bottom is of a magellanic penguin.  On the right is the food web in a cold dessert biome.  At the center (the line that looks like a fold in the middle), is where the lapbook opens up to the right.

Parts of a penguin on top and Types of penguins and their sizes on the bottom.  The flap on the right is math.

This is the right side opened up.  The pictures on the left and right are of different types of penguins.  The colored picture in the center is actually a color, cut & paste activity showing what daddy penguins do to care for the eggs while the mommies are out fetching food.  The wheel shows the life cycle of a penguin.

It's pretty basic, but really teaches a lot.  There were many more activities and books that we didn't include in the lapbook simply for lack of space.  One activity we did (I wish I had taken a picture) was of the girls trying to carry a potato (representing an egg) on top of their feet, as the daddy penguins do.  Even using their pants to serve as the flap of skin on a penguin, the "egg" kept falling off!  As they giggled through it, they learned how daddy penguins must walk very carefully to protect their precious cargo!