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Let’s talk about the curriculum… Kindergarten
This year, it appears, I will be teaching my fourth Kindergarten child. When they tell you every student is a different one to teach they really mean it. My oldest was finished Kindergarten by the time she was barely turning four, reading and all that easily that year. The next student couldn’t care less about reading on her own, because other people and audio-books were always an option. She didn’t learn to read until right about her seventh year of age. When I turned around to consider starting my son in Kindergarten, he was already reading and then suddenly testing into everything third and fourth grade level, and he only…
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Memoria Scholé Academy: 2019-2020 Week 1
We started strong with our school year in Memoria ScholĂ© Academy. Essentially, my students are 5th Grade (10), 3rd Grade with a Simply Classical path (8), Kindergarten in a relaxed manner (5), and tot-Preschool (2), with a new addition expected around Thanksgiving this autumn. Thus, it was really important to me for us to start strong! While there are a few bits of our last school year that I would like for the older girls to continue to flesh out, especially in math, we began August 12th, 2019 as our new year. View this post on Instagram Day 1 (yesterday) is in the books for 2019-2020 for 5th,…
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Fables & Fairy Tales (Crafty Classroom) {Review}
Over the years, I have often turned to The Crafty Classroom for printable materials to enhance our homeschool classroom studies. Right now, we are working our way through many units within the Fables & Tales pack. It is as easy and print, hand it to my daughter with her craft supplies and we’re off! This is truly a no-prep pack. For the purposes of this review, we received access to a PDF printable document and I let my daughter set the pace. My middle daughter is seven-years-old and she is always excited to work on these studies. Some days, she would sit and do page after page and on…
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IXL | Math, Language Arts, Science, Social Studies, & Spanish (Online Practice) {Review}
Many years ago, we introduced the concept of computer school to our homeschool situation with online math practice. Back in 2014, I believe that my introduction to IXL Math and IXL Language Arts is still one of our favorite review product items. We continued to pay for a membership in the years following our original review. My oldest daughter (AppleBlossom) started IXL around age five and I have been thrilled to watch all the improvements over the years. It is great, it has been great, and it is only getting better. IXL was my middle daughter’s (the Princess) introduction to working with technology devices including computers, desktop, laptop, iPad tablets, and…
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Classical Christian Education Kindergarten: Memoria Press vs. Veritas Press
Late last week, in a forum someone asked if anyone could compare the Kindergarten programs from Veritas Press and Memoria Press. I have experience with both and can gladly compare the two very different programs for you. Just so you know, I love parts of both and think both have their merits. In the end, I lean more to MP, but it is a long story and I still love material from VP. Please note, I do recommend materials from both publishers and appreciate the curriculum. I do have an affiliate relationship with Memoria Press and humbly request you use my links if you decide to purchase from them. Veritas…
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First Times by Charles Ghigna {Review}
A foray into the first adventures of childhood. Years ago, with Tot school in mind, I discovered Charles Ghigna and his story Little Seeds. Today, I was able to read one of his newer selections in First Times. This is a book about all sorts of firsts and applicable for each of my children from my nearly nine-year-old daughter all the way to her eleven-month-old sister and the others in between. The illustrations are okay, but it is the words and the text that make this book a fantastic one to read aloud again and again. I was blessed to read a digital Advanced Reading Copy on loan from the publisher. Opinions are honest…
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Starfall Pre-k Curriculum & more (Online Learning) {Review}
Ever since I started homeschooling with littles, one of the names that have come up over and over as a recommendation for some online learning is the Starfall Education Foundation. This year with our interactions with the Homeschool Review Crew we were blessed to receive a one-year subscription to The Starfall Home Membership giving access for the whole family. Or rather in our case, from my youngest student using this as a pre-k curriculum at three-years-old through my middle daughter at six-years-old and even the eldest at eight-years-old is able to benefit. Technically, if you include the times they hold her up to witness it all, even my newest addition at…
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Channie’s My First Letters Workbook {Review}
A few months ago, I was trying to find something to tide us over through the summer for my girls while browsing in our local Neighborhood Tutor teacher’s store. I came across a new set of workbooks, Channie’s Visual Handwriting & Math Workbooks, that the owner was very excited about and had just added to her shelves during her last expo shopping event. I was thinking that My First Letters (PreK-1st) might be just the thing to get my eager to learn preschool three-year-old son started in the right direction with a little bit of fun and guidance as an introduction to “school”. I’m also putting the Easy Peasy Cursive (1st to 3rd) and One Page…
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Twindergarten by Nikki Ehrlich {Review}
Dax and Zoe are twins. They go together like peanut butter and jelly. Now is the time to pull out all those new books for introducing the kiddos to school. While it is true that in our family we homeschool, Twindergarten is still an adorable read with lots of good messages within. This would make a great open house book or gift for a new Kinder or 1st grade student that is heading off to school or a different environment for the first time. Twindergarten is an attractively illustrated short story picture book about a pair of boy/girl twins as they head off to school and to different classes for the first…
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Learn to R.E.A.D. Curriculum Notebook {Review}
My second student is a bit different than my first, reading is a challenge. She focuses more when things are hands-on (coloring) and vibrant (colorful) and my old reading primer of black and white discussion text just doesn’t cut it for her. The Learn to R.E.A.D. Curriculum Notebook (36-week Curriculum) from The Crafty Classroom, however, seems to be right up her desire path! Through the Homeschool Review Crew, we were blessed to receive a PDF download of both the Learn to R.E.A.D. Curriculum Notebook (700+ pages!) as well as the R.E.A.D. Review Pack (28 Early Readers that Correspond with R.E.A.D. Notebook) which I’m told can be used as a stand-alone product,…
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Logic of English: Foundations, Level D (Science of Reading) {Review}
I think that it is an easy statement to say that one of my favorite product reviews that I have been introduced to through the blessing of participating in the TOS Crew is from Logic of English ~ (https://www.logicofenglish.com/) and today that blessings has continued in the form of the latest level of their primary school program in Foundations Level D. Link back to Foundations A and you can read my extremely verbose post on our original thoughts about LOE Foundations. We still love “Dragon Phonics”! When we started using LOE Foundations, I got the full kit including the supplemental Doodling Dragons book and iOS phonogram app. You can read more about those in my…
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Colors for Zena by Monica Wellington {Review}
*My original post seems to have disappeared, but this is too good of a resource that I recommend to not possibly post again. This book could not have arrived at a better time (August 2013) as we are discussing primary and secondary colors this week in Memoria Press Kindergarten. Absolutely this fabulous color picture book is being written in my lesson plans as a resource for future years. Monica’s images are fun and lovely for viewing by little artists. The introduction of a color and the return to it gives more interaction than a typical color book would with just a label per page. Then the animals of color add…
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Wrapping Up the End of the Homeschool Year (2014-2015 Edition)
End of the school-year, well it should be… but I guess this is more of a check in. Last year I wrote an end of the school-year wrap up post and I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw that same date was coming up on the calendar for this year. In the past year I’ve continued on with my eager-to-learn five year old, discovered my attention-span-of-a-butterfly three year doesn’t want to pipe down into school time like her sister, and added a baby brother nearing on ten months old to the mix. Wow. We’ve started a kitchen garden and attempted our first true unit study. We’ve discovered more curricula…
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S is for Smiling Sunrise (An ABC Book) {Review}
For the purposes of this review, I was blessed to receive a physical hardcover copy of the book S is for Smiling Sunrise with an audio CD included and a printed copy of the teaching guides from WordsBright ~ (http://WordsBright.com/). There is an eBook, free PDF teaching guides, and free MP3 download available on their website. The book itself is a durable and attractive hardcover, full-color alphabet book with vivid pictures on each page. There is also a gift dedication page in the very front making this accessible and friendly for gift giving opportunities. At least 10% of net earnings will be a gift to health & education projects…
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Biscuit Goes Camping (I Can Read!) is in stores now!
Join Biscuit—the bestselling My First I Can Read Book character and everyone’s favorite yellow puppy—in this nighttime story about camping. Total Biscuit ICR sales top fourteen million copies!
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Memoria Press First Start Reading {Review} Classical Curriculum
You may know this already. I love Memoria Press. Today I'm beyond blessed to share a review with you on the Memoria Press First Start Reading program. Okay, I know what you're thinking... I already reviewed this right? Well, yes and no. I reviewed the entire Memoria Press Kindergarten Curriculum and as a part of it that includes the First Start Reading Program, but I want to tell you more. What can I say? I'm a fan of anything and everything from Memoria Press and I really want to share my opinions with you.