Ice Cream & Dinosaurs & Chinese ... Oh, My! Our Home School Curriculum

When you teach in a public school setting, you teach what you're told to teach.  You teach to the objectives in the curriculum, and maybe, if you're lucky, you'll have enough wiggle room and time to be really creative with how you teach those things.

In our state, the requirements for homeschoolers are very open-ended.  There are really no requirements about what we teach, only about the records that we keep, which is both a blessing and a curse.  It's hard, at first, to figure out what to teach; but once you get started, you'll wonder how you will ever stop.

That's what has happened to us.

As a certified teacher, I panicked at first when I didn't have a curriculum.  Trying to figure out how to set thirteen years' worth of goals at once sounded impossibly hard ... until I remembered wisdom from the Old Testament:  Do the next thing.

I sat down one night to figure out what our 'next thing' was, and it's evolved into this.

We want our children to be great readers and thinkers and problem solvers.  We want them to know how to learn, how to look at problems critically, and how to work together.  We think they should be kind, caring, and responsible adults who are able to lead and support their families.

Translation:  They should be able to read well, answer questions, figure out stuff, know where to go to find more answers, handle basic math, hold down a job, etc.

There.  That's not so hard.

So, since we like to get totally immersed in our education, we study things for several weeks at a time, usually, so that we can get at them from all angles.  We want to read about them, build them, replicate them, play in them, eat them, grow them, and whatever else we might be able to do with our topic of study.

So for this upcoming year, after talking to the kids, examining the opportunities presented by our local library and homeschool group, we've chosen to study these things during this upcoming school year:

• Ice Cream
• Camping
• Ancient Egypt
• China
• France
• Zoology - in particular dinosaurs, tigers, and elephants
• The first Thanksgiving in America
• Art - drawing and color

For a few of these units, we'll be using prepackaged materials to supplement what I create. Voice of the Martyrs has a great Egyptian lapbook, and so we'll incorporate that into our studies.  We can't learn about ice cream without reading Ebenezer Bleezer's Ice Cream Store, and we'll learn how to make arrays with our sundae toppings.  We're starting an art co-op and will be using See the Light's Art Class DVDs.

Mostly, we'll read lots of good books, examine art and cuisine and music and folklore of any given location, study maps, and write all about our findings.  We love the Imagination Station books, the Magic Tree House and Magic School Bus chapter books, as well as lots of other random books we find all over.

So that's our plan for the upcoming school year.  If we finish all that, I'm sure there will be new things just waiting to tackle.  One kid currently wants to learn basket-weaving and the other wants to study Chinese ....

What will you be learning about next school year?

Inspired Wednesday - "The Cloak" Review & Giveaway

I love to read, and my very favorite books have always been mysteries.

Which means that getting an email from an author automatically makes me do a happy dance.  Getting emails offering books is even better.  Especially when they're mystery books.  :-)

Sally J. Ling, a Floridian writer of history's mysteries, has penned a new what-if style story about the cloak of Jesus.  She asks what might happen if His cloak still has the power to heal - and did so today.

Writer Shea Baker stumbles upon an old tassel while attending an art gallery exhibit and soon is caught up in a mystery spanning thousands of years and multiple continents.  Can he find the truth about these ancient threads before someone gets hurt?  What if the healing cloak of Jesus were to emerge from its century’s old hiding place and made available to heal the world? Would it be a blessing as some feel, or a curse that could throw the world into political, theological, economic, and logistical chaos?

I love fictional debates about Biblical artifacts.  It's Indiana Jones at its most adventuresome - pure adventure, great debate, unsolved mystery, and fun speculation.  This particular story took me a few chapters to get hooked, but for a very zany and personal reason:  the main character's name sounds feminine to me, and it took me that long to get it through my head that he was a middle-aged male.  Once that happened, I was caught up in the story.

Ling used Baker's lack of Biblical knowledge to explain the history of Jerusalem, a popular Bible story, and information about other famous artifacts.  In this way the reader gains real knowledge in an unassuming way.  The set-up to the story also appealed to me, Baker's first name aside - the cast of characters initially made up a wide pool which narrowed as connections were made and the story progressed.  This kept the energy high and the suspense growing.  

Ling's writing style and premise puts me in mind of Harry Kraus' The Stain.  With a plausible backstory for the cloak's resurfacing and entertaining characters, this is a great read - but it's only the beginning.  With several parts of the plot left open-ended and a new mystery turning up on Baker's desk, I can't wait to read the next Shea Baker mystery.

Author Sally J. Ling doesn't only write Biblical mysteries, however; as a former reporter, much like Baker, she's written Floridian history books and many articles. She's also a generous author - today she's giving away digital copies of her book Spies, Root Beer, & Alligators, a book for nine- to twelve-year-olds, to the first ten people who sign up for her newsletter.  Click here to go to sign up for her Preferred Readers newsletter and you'll receive directions for how to get your free e-book.

What's your favorite book genre?  Do you and your kids like to read the same ones??

Last week Chris at Campfires & Cleats shared reminded us of how important the leadership role of our husbands are - and how wonderful they are when they lead us!  It's too easy to overlook their contributions to our families, especially in the midst of dirty laundry mountains and a culture that often mocks our men. To find out more, visit Campfires & Cleats - and Chris, please visit our Inspired Wednesday page and take the "I was featured on Washed Up Inspired Wednesdays' button back with you.  

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If you have a post about an encouraging activity, project, or trip that you've taken, please link up below and add a link back to this post.  Either way, please read on to find out more about a fun activity that we enjoy here in our nest, and be sure to hop over to Where He Leads, We Follow to check out Stephanie's  Inspiring Wednesday post, too. 

*I received a free copy of The Cloak from Sally J. Ling in exchange for an honest review.

An InLinkz Link-up

GratiTuesday -Getting Down to Brass Tacks

In many ways it feels as if this has been a hard one for our family.

My husband has changed jobs.  Our schedule has turned itself upside down because of this.  Our car just had major problems.  Last year's tornado peppered our aging roof with holes.  Our house is old, and it has many energy-deficient issues.  Including the aging A/C system, which really does not like these super hot and humid days.

Sometimes thinking about all of the craziness going on is discouraging.

Then a few weeks ago we had the opportunity to listen to one of our church's teens talk about a mission trip he took to Africa last year.

Walker spent nine days in Malawi, where he took people's vital signs and interacted with the natives.

During his presentation, he showed us pictures of the food, their houses, their clothing, and even the kids' toys.

Each picture broke my heart just a little bit more - and made me feel ashamed for ever being unsatisfied with the state of our stuff.

Many people in this tiny village lived in shacks made of mud bricks. I use the term 'shack' loosely, because often there was no roof, no windows, and walls that appeared to be only waist high.

Then we viewed the mansions of the village - and these looked like the poorest of our poor neighborhoods' garages.  These mud-bricked structures were bigger than the others, had roofs, and had big open spaces for windows.  It still left much to be desired.

The bathroom was a communal one - a hole dug in the ground inside a fence made of straw.  Leaves sprinkled on top of the hole after each use helped to contain the smell, and one's left hand took the place of toilet paper - literally.  Stepping back too far while using the hole left one with dirty feet.

The 'toys' were pieces of string or vegetation rolled around and around, over and over, to make a ball.  Soccer rules in this village, and everyone loves to play, despite the total lack of shoes.

Africa is not entirely like this, of course; there are wealthier and more urban areas, but many places like this exist, too, and these people are content in their lot - even joyful.  They are not upset at what they don't have, but determinedly work to survive and share what they do have.  

My windows may be less fancy than some, but they exist, which is more than many have.  Our A/C system may not be icy, but it does cool the house.  My children may be messy at times, but they have many toys which spark their imaginations and help them learn about the kinds of adults they want to be.  Our schedule may be packed, but it's full of good things we can do together, with our family and friends.

I generally think that comparisons are a bad thing, as we often compare ourselves poorly with those around us.  

Sometimes, however, they can put things back into perspective.

For more GratiTuesday, visit Heavenly Homemakers.

"The Wishing Tree" by Marybeth Whalen

Ivy Marshall isn't having a good day.  She's just discovered that her husband is having an affair on the very same day that her oh-so-perfect sister receives a romantic proposal - on national television.  Running home to Sunset Beach, home to her high school years and former fiance, will Ivy pick up where she left off with her handsome fiance, or will she attempt to work things out with her husband?

The Wishing Tree is an emotional landmine of  past issues, present pains, and unresolved futures.  It presents a realistic look at how our choices and our relationships affect the path that our lives take.

Ivy made for an interesting lead character.  It was difficult for me to relate to her at first - every time I thought I had her figured out she would surprise me all over again!  Not all of these surprises were happy ones, however.  Although I understand that Ivy's actions were usually a result of past pain, seeing her toy with her former fiance's affections was frustrating.  This quick turn from one man to another made Ivy feel flaky to me, yet I thought that the questions she was working through were real and authentic.  

That was the best part of this story.  Ivy began the story at odds with nearly her entire family, and so Ivy had many relationships to mend and come to terms with, especially on top of the trouble with her marriage.  Throughout the course of the story Ivy began to see her actions in terms of faith and to choose right and not just what felt good.    These steps toward maturity added great depth and planted me firmly on Ivy's side.

Put The Wishing Tree in your beach bag and get ready for a roller coaster ride through love, marriage, and finding your way back to faith.

I received a free copy of The Wishing Tree from Marybeth Whalen in exchange for an honest review.

Back to (Home) School 2013

It's that time again!  The stores are beginning to hold their back-to-school shopping sales, and people everywhere are discussing plans for the upcoming school year.

I'm knee deep in plans, books, and curriculum for our next semester.  As I do, these are the things that I'm thinking about ...

My Big Helper is now eight and entering the third grade.  She's a great reader but isn't as fond of writing as she used to be, although she continues to be rather good at it.  She loves to learn about how people live and is growing an interest in science, but mostly she likes to do 'projects.'  She wants to build, cook, sew, or create what happens in her studies.  She works rather slowly because she thinks about all aspects of what she's doing and prefers to do everything cooperatively.  While she works independently, she tends to carry that work around the house so that she can be beside me, wherever I might be - whether I'm working with her brother or completing some housework.

Art is another new interest, and it, too, has been growing rapidly.  She recently started her own art business and is excited about the possibilities this may create.

She's very mission-minded.  This is something that I have to be intentional about encouraging, as this gift of hers is not one of mine - but it's very important to her, and so I'm learning along with her.

Her book club, although currently on summer break, will resume in August.  My Big Helper is excited about getting together with her friends once again to interact with literature.  She is a wonderful reader, and the possibilities for her are now limited only by our imaginations, so I'm trying to dream big.

Which brings us to my Little Man, who is no longer so little.  He's six and entering first grade, and for the past few months has been determined to have his own book club and monthly gathering with friends.  When he asked me several months ago for this, I told him we'd start one when he could read chapter books - and so he promptly worked very hard on his reading.  He now picks up and reads short chapter books in a single setting, so his very own book club will begin in September.

Of course, this means that My Little Man now loves to read.  If he doesn't have a book in his hand, then there was one there just a few minutes ago - and you're sure to find several under his pillow, tucked into his bed rails, and beside his seat in the car.  If he's quiet and somewhere in the house, chances are good that he got distracted when he walked past a book, and I'll usually find him on his tummy, head in his hands, eagerly devouring the pages.  He'll read anything - fiction chapter books, preferably mysteries or adventure stories, or any kind of non-fiction research book, from dictionaries to field guides to books about animals and machines.

Math comes easily to him, so I'd like to move him through the rest of his first-grade math goals and into harder ones quickly so that he has more options when he's older.  He's very mechanical, as well, and I love to see how he's able to explain movement and basic physics.  

Science is his favorite subject, so we read lots of science books and spend time just discussing how and why things work.  This thrills him to no end.

Writing is not exactly his favorite thing, but he does well at it - and he likes to write in his journal.  He's not enamored with lowercase letters, so although he knows well what they look like, convincing him to use them is a bit of a struggle.  If this is any indication, he's going to be a brilliant doctor someday.  ;-)

Me?  I love to read, and besides that, history is my favorite subject.  I like to learn about the people - how did they live, what was important to them, what did their everyday lives look like.

Why do my likes matter?  If I'm teaching in way that's totally foreign or uncomfortable to me, then our lessons become more stilted.  We have worked out compromises on our differences.  For example, I'm learning to be more scientific and mission minded because those things are important to the kids.  They have learned to get their hands dirty, to read recipes, and ask questions because those things are important to me.  This balance keeps all of us happy and enables us to learn together as a group, with each kid working to the best of his/her ability and taking assignments as far as they are able to go.

This post is linked up with A Classic Housewife's Back to (Home) School's 2013 carnival.  Come back next week to find out more about the curriculum we're planning to utilize in the 2013-14 school year.

Great Minds Think Alike - with Winter Promise & FREEBIES!

If you've been reading here at our Nest for any time at all, you've probably noticed that we homeschool - and that we like to get down and dirty with our education.

We read lots of books, we cook and bake often, we build things and explore and sew.  We all love it - it's fun and in-depth and my kids really understand and remember the things we study.

For the Mommy-Teacher, though, it's a lot of work. 

It's work that I love - I am a certified teacher - and I've dreamed of having my own chalkboard since I was in kindergarten.  Pulling all of these things together, however, is very time consuming, and so I love finding quality materials that will save me time and encourage my kids.

I recently stumbled across the mother lode.

There's a curriculum company called Winter Promise that offers Charlotte Mason and unit-study-style curriculum for homeschoolers.  You can buy a complete boxed set or purchase pieces individually - and these resources are structured unlike any I've ever seen.

The science curriculum includes things like dinosaurs and horses.  What kid wouldn't want to spend an entire school year delving into either one of those topics?  (I'm pretty sure My Little Man is on Year 3 of his independent dinosaur study, at least.)

The history curriculum includes studies like 'Hideaways in History,' where kids get to build an actual place from the time they're studying, like building a pyramid while studying Egypt.  There's also a culture and geography program called 'Children Around the World' - and when I discovered that, I got really excited.

Partly because my kids love learning about other kids in other places.

But mostly because Winter Promise has shared some great samples of this curriculum - for FREE!  Now you can be sure that it's a perfect fit for your family before you purchase.

You can download a free sample of this 'Children Around the World Curriculum' here - and this is a meaty sample.  It's a full 32 pages of stories, student response sheets, and directions for hands-on activities.  The sample focuses on England - and there's some great stuff there.  I can't wait to study it!

There are more samples connected with this curriculum, as well.  Check them out:

Children Around the World Guide 

Children of Many Lands 
Cultural Gathering Planning Guide 
Fun & Traditions from Many Lands 
Working Children 
Prayer & Personal Involvement Journal 
Student Geography Worksheets 
Faraway Places Doodle Placemats 
Native Costume Stand-Ups 
Travel-With-Me World Map Set & Figures

Here are some samples from the Hideaways in History curriculum:

Hideaway in History Guide
"Make-Your-Own" Hideaway Book
Let's Hideaway in History
"On-the-Spot" History Fun
Hole Up in a Homemade Hideaway 
Hiding God's Word in My Heart

There's an activity in one of these samples above that I'm definitely going to use with a book club this fall.  :-)

Here's a whole mini unit about ancient Rome.

Mini_Study_Rome_from_Hideaways_in_History 

Here's another fun sample, too, that come from the 'Adventures in the Sea and Sky' program - and I'm totally using this idea for a book club this fall, as well.  It might also be on my list for next year when we study pirates.  ;-)

Micro-Study_Pirate_Dress

So there you have it.  The mother lode of freebie resources from a great-sounding new publisher.  These will allow you to build, cook, host parties, dress up and act out, all while learning from the inside out.

You can find other ways to use Winter Promise over here at the blog.

Thanks, Winter Promise.  I'm happy to make your acquaintance.  I think we'll be very good friends.  :-)

Have you heard of Winter Promise before??  What style of school do you do?

Last week Nancy at There is Grace shared how to make your own library book bag.  My kids would love these! To find out more, visit There is Grace - and Nancy, please visit our Inspired Wednesday page and take the "I was featured on Washed Up Inspired Wednesdays' button back with you.  

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If you have a post about an encouraging activity, project, or trip that you've taken, please link up below and add a link back to this post.  Either way, please read on to find out more about a fun activity that we enjoy here in our nest, and be sure to hop over to Where He Leads, We Follow to check out Stephanie's  Inspiring Wednesday post, too. 

*I am being indirectly compensated for this post with a piece of WP curriculum.  Thus far, I have seen only the freebies that you see linked above - but the opinions stated above are my own.  I am most impressed with the freebies and look forward to learning more about this company.

An InLinkz Link-up

See the Light Shine's July Special

*This post contains affiliate links for a company whose products I have used and loved.  I recommend them because they are high quality.  If you choose to click on these links, you'll be supporting our homeschooling efforts - and we thank you.

We've turned a page on our calendars, and that means that See the Light is offering a new monthly special. 

This month it's "Pointillism Fruit" by George Seurat.  The DVD contains four step-by-step lessons and runs for more than 90 minutes.  STL recommends setting aside an hour for each lesson on this DVD, and these lessons are suitable for kids ages 10 and up.

"Pointillism Fruit" is on sale now for $12.50 with free shipping to anywhere in the US when you use the code JULY at checkout.  That comes out to only $3.13 per lesson.  Where else could you get a great quality art lesson taught by a master artist for that price??

See the Light is giving away other great freebies to enhance these lessons, too - and they're only available in July.  You can download a biography, lesson plans, and other great activities for free here.

Have you tried See the Light yet?