Book Carnival, New Car, Homeschool Show, Memorial of Jesus Death

So I'm actually going to catch everyone up here a little bit.  Life has been super hectic around our household.

I have had to add Physical therapy a couple times a week to my schedule, which hasn't been easy.  I have been suffering some terrible leg and joint pain on the left side of my body.  I have survived it, and been working on it.  But so far haven't seen much success.  I'm really sad because they said it could take months of rehab to build the strength back up to what it was a year ago.  My PT thinks he knows what is going on, but since my x-rays came back normal.  We're just not sure.  My dr. is hesitant to order extensive testing.  But I may have to demand it soon.  With the family history I am coming from, there's been too many joint issues.  I'm too young to be dealing with this stuff right now, but it could happen.

I've also been changing my diet up.  I went sugar and grain free, along with this diet change I also went low carb.  I'm actually toying with the keto diet.  Already with reduced grains and no sugar I have had felt better on some of my gastro issues.  So a win-win there.  But I struggle with stress-eating.  And the last few weeks have been so busy and stressful, that I'm struggling big time.  I have discovered that I can eat some kinds of popcorn and corn chips in small amounts.  So those are my go-to cheat snacks right now.  I am loving the Skinny Pop White Cheddar popcorn.

Since my last full week post, a lot of things have happened.

Caty started her science project for the Science Fair.  She is attempting to hatch chickens.  A friend of ours raises chickens and has been for several years.  So we headed over to see her.  She let the girls pick their own eggs.  She lent us a incubator, and we'll see what happens.

Another big event.... Joe and I celebrated our 19th wedding anniversary.  We didn't get to do anything on our own.  So maybe someday soon we can have a date night.  But we did get to celebrate with the kids.  We include them every year in our celebration.  This year though, the Annual Homeschool Book Carnival fell on our Anniversary.  So we actually started our day out there....after I had to get up early for PT though...lol.

The kids had fun finishing their projects for this.  It was one of those rapid pull togethers, but we managed to pull it off.  This was the BEST book carnival turnout in a few years.  All the kids that entered did wonderful.  I'll have a separate post about that though.  In this post, I'll show off our kiddos projects.

Then when we got home, we celebrated with presents, homemade pizza and pumpkin blizzard ice cream cake.  This was a special treat this year, since Joey was actually able to eat the cake too!!  The kids were excited about their gifts.

We didn't officially have school that week.  We were on spring break, so there was a lot of downtime.  But Lydia did have a few things that she had to be at.  One being her History of the Horse class that she is taking at stable.  She also had her sign language class and her volunteer shift at the stable.

On April Fool's Day I made sure to go over the top this year, since I sort of forgot last year.  They were disappointed.  I planned every meal and lots of little tricks.  There was toilet paper in their shoes, popits under the toilet seat and fake dog poop.  It was fun.

The kids also had Homecoming that night.  They played their last basketball game of the season and cheered their last basketball game.  What a game.....

Amid all of this, we decided that having a second vehicle would be a good thing.  So one evening we spent working out financing and details on a 2nd vehicle for Joe.  He is happy, he wanted a Jeep Cherokee.  It's not a decked out version, but it's nice.  It will definitely be comfortable for him on his journeys down to Nashville when we cannot go with him.

Joey and Lydia both had presentations due for 4H.  We started out with Joey doing a presentation on his 4H Quick Breads project, and that backfired on us.  The whole gluten-free flour thing was an issue.  Since I changed my diet, I do not keep it in the house.  So we had an accident with the flour and there was no extra.  So he still baked snack for his club.  We made about 72 pumpkin muffins.  Apparently they were delicious!!  The kids all seemed to love them.  Even at home I was fighting to keep the kids out of them.  He did his presentation on his Money Management project.

Lydia did her presentation on her self-determined American Sign Language project.  This was one of her first meetings as secretary.  So she also had to take notes during the meeting. I was totally prepared to have to help her throughout the meeting, but BAM...she had it all under control.

The next day, we went to our first Homeschool Show with our Homeschool with Minecraft classes.  It was a rather slow day.  I honestly spent more on curriculum than I made.  There were some great deals.  And we all know how much of a curriculum junkie I am.  But we had fun explaining what we do in classes with everyone, and giving demonstrations.   Lydia even won a really cute backpack at one of the booths.

The next day, I think I literally died.  We all were hit with allergies.  It was horrible.  Poor Brayden has them horrible and so does Caty.  I had to resort to over-the-counter things because the natural stuff just wasn't cutting it.  Within a day mine were back under control and manageable.  We are still working on Brayden's and Caty's.  He doesn't want to use Flonase, which is helping me.

It's that time of year though when we remember the death of Jesus.  So we have been reading the account of Jesus death with them from the Bible.  Last year we started a new tradition of making Memorial bread (unleavened bread) with them.  So they wanted to make sure we did it again this year.  It was messy, but they were satisfied with what they made.

We also watched these videos:

and

The weather got warmer and we took a few walks and even a bike ride.  One trip ended with us at the local dairy bar for ice cream.  We took the puppies with us and they each got a treat too.  They loved getting out for the long walk.  I was actually surprised they made it the full mile walk.

I planted some daffodils, because I love yellow daffodils.

We also had American Girl Book Club.  This month was American Girl Jess.  She stays in Belize with her parents who are archaeologists.  In the club we learned about some Native traditions, including worry dolls and also talked about archaeology.  I highly recommend this book for extended studies!!

Caty had planted Zinnia seeds for one of her 4H projects and they are started to sprout up.

We started a new history program, Truth Quest History - Beginnings.  I really like how it is based on the Bible.  You can use your own copy of the Bible to read from.  So we are using this as guided reading along with our Bible.  This week we talked about the creation of the Earth, the days of creation.  They each created a poster to remember what happened on each day.  We discussed why God may have designed things the way he did.  So far this week, I'm definitely liking this program.

We have watched lots of videos, Including

We also watched the Wonders of God's Creation series.  This was great for science and history.

Science class is going well.  They have built molecules, and done lots of experiments.  One of the favorites so far has been the citric acid and water in the mouth.  Yep...a little like sour patch kids on the tongue.  We had a backfire on one experiment, so try..try again.  We took a week off from science last week, but back into the swing of things this week.  We did our reading and now waiting to meet up with our friends for more experiments.  We are almost done with our Periodic Table study.

Our Girl Scout troop had their annual movie day.  The girls chose to see Boss Baby.  I was thinking it would just not be worth it...but it was cute.  The kids all really liked it. We have had a lot of girl scout events, including a mom and me camp with our troop.  It was a fun overnight cabin camping experience.  I'm glad that we only go camping once a year though.  I'm so not the camper.

We did get back into the swing of things this week.  We did some review in geography, math and writing sentences.  I also had them all read Sarah, Plain and Tall and complete a comprehension guide.  This was something new.  They have never all read the same book at the same time.  But it worked out well.  I can't wait to continue on this path.  I know Caty is excited about the book we start next week.  Some days they'll read and work independently.  But other times, we will work on this together and read together also.

This weekend....shhhh....we are actually not busy.  We have some yard work to get going on Sunday.  We have to keep Caty's science project on track.  Lydia's science fair project is on track too.  We just have to get started on the boys projects. So life isn't slowing down.  But we do need to do some reorganizing, or we are going to run out of clean clothes and clean dishes...lol

Hope everyone has had a wonderful few weeks.  I'll see everyone next week!!

Northern Speech Services - Color My Conversation Review

Learning social cues and the ability to have conversations with the people around us can be a struggle for anyone, but it can be especially difficult for those with delays or those on the autism spectrum.  We recently had the opportunity to review the Color My Conversation social language program written by Rosslyn Delmonico, MA, RSLP, CCC-SLP and published by Northern Speech Services.

The Color My Conversation program can be used by those in a public school, coop or homeschool setting.  You can use it with just one child or with multiple children.  This social language based program starts at the basic cornerstone of conversations and helps children to build on top until they have a tower full of language skills.

Depending on the social skill delay, Color My Conversation can be used by any age group.  During the Lessons, the author covers how to work with younger children and older children.  The younger that you as a parent can start working with your child on these conversation skills, the easier these skills can become for your child in a shorter amount of time.  But even older children can benefit from either these cues being taught to them or even practicing these skills they have learned to make sure they do continue to use them properly.

Color My Conversation can be used in as little as 14-16 weeks, to as long as a full school year.  You as the instructor can adjust to what your student needs.  It is broken down into 12 lessons with supplementary materials to continue with the student for more practice.  It covers topics that include:

• Greetings
• Chitchat
• Topics of Conversation
• Asking questions
• Responding effectively
• Transitioning between topics
• Reading nonverbal communication
• Being a good listener
• Being flexible in conversations
• Developing a flexible conversation skills
• Seeing the real benefit of face-to-face social interactions

Now you may be saying, "Wait, teaching math and history is one thing, but doing speech therapy....I think I should leave that to the experts."  I can see why you may say this.  After all, we think anything to do with Speech needs to be seen by the nurse.

Color My Conversation makes it so easy to help you engage your child into conversations.  They provide you with a full manual on how to use Color My Conversation.  But if you are like me....yeah I need more.  They also have created training videos that model how to use each lesson in the Color Me Conversation program.  You can watch how to use each lesson properly with both younger and older children.

Just like the name, Color My Conversation uses bright colored materials that help to keep kids engaged.  These include the "colored" stones that allow the students to walk down the path of having great conversations with both their friends and other adults.

I will admit, when I opened the box, I was totally overwhelmed.  I was one of those people saying that, "Hey, isn't this why you take your children to specialists?!?!"

But WOW, I felt empowered as I sit and went through all the training videos that she has created to help parents and educators use Color My Conversation with children.  Most of the videos show this program in a group setting, since you can use this in a classroom setting.  While watching this, it made me think how easy you could use this program even in a coop setting.

Since all of our kids are at various points on the spectrum, obviously all of them could use help in the areas of social cues.

After a couple weeks of working with the various age levels of our kids, I can see how some have made improvement in conversation starting.  But since each child advances at their own speed, others of our kids need a bit longer on the various lessons, including following a bit of a bit scripted pattern while we work on them not monopolizing conversations about their favorite video game topics.  Brayden in particular is well known for this one.  He says Hi, and then automatically starts the conversation on a topic of a video game he knows so much about.  He will continue to spout facts for as long as someone will let him.  So we will continue to work on this with him.

My favorite part of the Color My Conversation program is definitely the stones.  They are a great visual tool for kids to see the path they need to follow to a great conversation.  Just like Rosslyn says in the training videos, people make assumption about our intelligence by the conversations that we have.  They determine who we are.  So casual conversations are very important, and the art of chit-chat is necessary as they grow toward adulthood.

We have made varying degrees of progress with each of the children over the last couple weeks.  Mainly so far I have worked independently with each child, since in the beginning even with the conversation ball, it was a bit of a struggle.  But as each child begins to emerge through the beginning sections, we will do more group lessons together.

Lessons could be as long as you would like them to be.  Color My Conversation recommends either 1 - 45 minute session or 2 - 30 minute sessions a week.  That time period moves really quickly, which works for your family.  We left the "conversation stones" out so that the kids could see them.  It's recommended to do this by Color My Conversation.  You can really determine how long you spend with your child, you know their attention span and their frustration levels.

I think that being able to work on these skills in a controlled environment has really been able to help Joey who suffers from anxiety.  He can learn these essential skills (even though he is older than the recommended age of 12) that are necessary for adults to have.  But can do it where he feels safe, instead of just learning it while we are out and about and he's feeling stressed.   As he practices these skills at home, he can then merge into a real environment at club meetings and on field trips.

I can not wait to see how each of the kids emerge as we continue using Color My Conversation.

To purchase, Color My Conversation it is $149.00.  But that is the full program with access to all the video tutorials.  I can't emphasize how much those videos helped my confidence in working with the kids with this program.  Color My Conversation makes it so that parents can feel even more confident teaching their children necessary social skills, without requiring them to have a degree in psychiatry.  The price is very reasonable for the amount of materials you get with the program, and they are not cheaply made.  They are made very sturdy, so you can easily use Color My Conversation with multiple children.  I saw it as less spent on driving all over to doctors and therapy sessions.  (Plus again...Joey felt more comfortable and willing to work since he wasn't feeling anxious.)

If Color My Conversation is something that you would like for your children, and it's above your budget currently, check around for financial help.  In our county, you can get some money for purchasing items for those with special needs.  Maybe contact your local agencies, such as even United Way and they could direct you to organizations that would help you to purchase this wonderful program for your family.  Color My Conversation would definitely be an educational tool that they would help us to purchase to work with our children.

Several members of the Homeschool Review Crew were given the opportunity to use Color My Conversation by Rosslyn Delmonico and published by Northern Speech Services.  See how they used this program in their homes, and how it worked for them, by visiting the link below.

CompuScholar, Inc. - Digital Savvy Computer Course Review

Computers are really an intricate part of our everyday lives.  We recently had the opportunity to review the Digital Savvy program from Compuscholar, Inc.  What a great stress reliever that has been for me.

Compuscholar, Inc. is an online computer science company.  They specialize in providing programs that help students to not only learn necessary computer skills to use in everyday life, but also computer skills that would introduce students to new careers such as Web design.

Parents do not need to be digital experts for their child to take courses from Compuscholar, Inc.  It is very user friendly, and created with instructional videos and step-by-step self-study lessons.

We had the opportunity to try out their Digital Savvy program.  The recommended ages are grades 6 - 12.  Lydia is just below that recommendation in 5th grade.  But if your child is familiar with the basics of how computer's work, this is not a big deal.  With our daily life, Lydia is very familiar with using her computer for research, and even light programming.  So I was excited to see how she would do with the Digital Savvy course that teaches the behind the scenes of how her computer works and also takes her more indepth into her word processing program.

The Digital Savvy course covers topics on:

• Hardware and operating systems
• Managing folders and files on the computer
• Basic networking
• Online safety and security
• Using Word Processors, databases and spreadsheets
• Image editing
• Using social media and email communication
• Intro to website design
• Simple programming concepts
• Computer career options

Each course includes automatically graded lesson quizzes, chapter tests and an electronic gradebook.  Hands-on programming and computing projects with easy to use instructions.  There are also teacher's guides available for you to follow along if your student needs help.  But Compuscholar, Inc. does not leave you alone while using their online program.  They have a support portal for frequently asked questions, as well as you can contact them for help on topics that your student may be struggling with.

The Digital Savvy course also includes a syllabus that gives you a planning timeframe suggested for each chapter that your student will be doing while taking this course.  Some chapters they will proceed through quicker than others.   The length of the course time recommended is at minimum two semesters.  So depending on how long your child spends on each section, they could finish this program in a "regular" school year or roughly 36 weeks.

You do not need a brand new computer to take courses from Compuscholar, Inc.  For Digital Savvy, you do need a computer with either Window or Mac operating system.  The course material can be accessed from any HTML5-compliant web browser on standard computers, laptops, or tablets with an internet connection.  Hands-on projects will require the use of a computer with one of these operating systems: Windows, 7, 8 or 10 or Mac OS Version 10.7 or higher.

Our account was very easy to set up.  I quickly setup our teacher account.  Lydia had her own login.  And it's so user friendly.  I literally just let her know what chapter she should be working on, and she login and starts her work.

This is a screenshot from her chapter two page.  Even if I wasn't familiar with computers, the interface is simple to use.

I can easily print the teacher's guide so that I can follow along with her video lesson and textbook.  After the student goes through each of these, there is a lesson quiz available for the student to take.

So far I have been very impressed with the knowledge that Lydia has been exposed to using the Digital Savvy course.  She has also been taking programming classes with a local co-op, and programming is very important.  But I also knew that she really needs to learn using software such as word processing and databases.  Her father and I use these all the time.  But with his work schedule he hasn't had the opportunity to sit down and teach her those (nor have I).  Compuscholar, Inc. has taken the stress out of teaching these items along with so many other fun computer skills like image editing.

If your student needs a computer science course, I highly recommend checking out Compuscholar, Inc.  Not only does the Digital Savvy course meet requirements for graduation, but can really help your child to become more comfortable using a computer.  A parent could also sign up to take programs so that they could be more comfortable using their own computer.  Compuscholar, Inc offers so many other programs.  The offer programs in web design, Introductory Programming (C#), Java Programming (AP), Unity Game Programming, Game Programming with VB, and Android Programming.

The price for taking Digital Savvy is actually very reasonable.  You can choose to do the self-study for either $15.00 a month or $120.00 per year.  This is the option that we reviewed.  But you can also sign up for a teacher-led study.  This option is $35.00 per month or $300.00 per year.

I highly recommend starting out with this computer science course - Digital Savvy.  It really has been a great resource for Lydia.  By taking it at home, it has saved me time in driving to a computer science center.  And she can work on it at her own pace.  If you take longer to do one section over another, then that is your student's choice.  The planning style is flexible to your student's needs.

Several members of the Homeschool Review Crew were given the opportunity to review other programs from Compuscholar, Inc, including Java Programming and Web Design.  Visit the link below to see how they used these programs in their homes.

Need a Laugh?

It's been a rough and busy couple weeks.  I felt the need to just look for goofy memes.  Then I thought to myself, what if someone else is feeling this way.  I need to share some goofy memes with them too.

OH MY!!  This is soooo Brayden.  He always wants me to respond LOL when he see something funny.

I love Blimey Cow videos....

Hope you are having a nice week!

Peggy Consolver -Author - Shepherd, Potter, Spy--and the Star Namer Review

We recently had a chance to review Shepherd, Potter, Spy--and the Star Namer ($15.99) by Peggy Miracle Consolver and published by Peggy Consolver - Author.  Peggy Consolver is a wife, mother and teacher of God's Word.  She has experienced visiting the lands spoken of in the bible and also been involved in archeological digs.  She has been able to take all of these adventures and help others to dig deeper into the Bible and be able to really visualize what it was like and bring it to life.

Shepherd, Potter, Spy--and the Star Namer is a soft-cover book that covers the story of the Gibeonites from Joshua chapters 9 & 10.  I will admit that one of my biggest problems with reading the Hebrew scriptures is keeping track of names and who they are.  I'm horrible at this (I'm just terrible at names period...lol).  At the front of the book, Peggy Consolver has also included a Characters and Relationships information.  So instead of my notebook paper I need to keep next to me, I was easily able to refer back these pages when I could not remember a name.  She has also included 10 discussion questions in the back of the book for small group study.

Shepherd, Potter, Spy--and the Star Namer is the story of a young shepherd boy.  His name is Keshub.  It is in the days of when the Hebrews were coming out of the wilderness and start to claim land that God had given to them.  Keshub's family begin to spy on the Hebrews, to protect themselves.  Will the family be spared?

This work of historical fiction allows this period of the Bible to shine as you follow the adventures of Keshub, his family and friends.  We were able to see a new faith emerge and also the power of God.  Shepherd, Potter, Spy--and the Star Namer takes you on an adventure unlike what you may have read before.  You are truly reading the Bible in a story-like form.

As I was reading this story, Shepherd, Potter, Spy--and the Star Namer is definitely for those with a higher comprehension level, unless you are reading it together.  Independent reading level, I would suggest late middle school through high school level.  There are many details included.  Younger readers would definitely struggle, but it would make a great family read-together for Bible study time.

But the Shepherd, Potter, Spy--and the Star Namer also has a companion study guide called Digging Deeper into HIStory.  You can purchase the study guide download through Amazon.

But she also has provided study guide links on her website.  Research links and videos that are included in this will help all ages to gain a deeper understanding of this time period.

Several members of the Homeschool Review Crew were given the opportunity to review the Shepherd, Potter, Spy--and the Star Namer.  Click on the banner below to see how they used the historical fiction in their homes.

Memoria Press - The Story of the Thirteen Colonies & the Great Republic Set Review

We recently had a chance to review The Story of the Thirteen Colonies & The Great Republic Set by H. A. Guerber and also 200 Questions About American History Set compiled by Sean Brooks and published by Memoria Press.

I will admit openly that I do not love modern history books.  It's really hard to find history that doesn't leave out important details, but also is not overwhelming with details.  The Story of the Thirteen Colonies & The Great Republic Set by H. A. Guerber was originally published in two separate volumes in the late 1800s is a great example of how history should be taught.  Memoria Press republished both volumes written by H. A. Guerber into one soft cover book.  Created also for this great history book is a Student Guide and Teachers Guide.  Written to be used with Grades 5 - 8, you can purchase the print set from Memoria Press for $48.00.

The Story of the Thirteen Colonies & The Great Republic student textbook is broken down into 85 easy-to-read "chapters".  They are short, so those who are attention span challenged can easily handle the brief reading assignment either together or on their own.  The chapters cover Pre-Columbus American history through the Spanish-American War.  In the beginning of the book, suggestions are offered to parents on how to use the material so that their children can get the maximum benefits.  The suggestions follow the classical education approach, so famously promoted by Memoria Press publications.

After you determine your child's speed in working their way through the material, the Student Guide comes in very handy for review.  Roughly three chapters are connected together in each Lesson.  Vocabulary terms are explored, and important facts/persons are also reiterated.  Short answer comprehension questions are also included, as well as map work, timeline suggestions and also extra research project ideas.

We have been studying American history for a couple of years now, and I wish I would have had this set when we first started.  The brief, yet thorough material in each chapter would have been great for our boys short attention spans.  It just shows that the new way of teaching things is not always the right way.  We have read through the final chapters of the book, and it went so smoothly with the boys in their understanding.  Since there was not an overabundance of material being thrown at them in each chapter, they didn't feel overwhelmed.   Thus the feeling of anxiety was avoided.  Let me emphasize, that less doesn't mean they were missing out on anything.  It simply means that it was presented in an easier-to-understand form and there were no facts missing.

We also had the opportunity to try out 200 Questions About American History Set compiled by Sean Brooks ($27.90).  This resource can be used right alongside your American History studies using The Story of the Thirteen Colonies & The Great Republic.  Along with the question cards, there is also a student workbook and teacher's guide.  These contain a schedule of drill questions to go along with the reading from The Story of the Thirteen Colonies & The Great Republic.  Included also in the student workbook is a timeline, quote guide of sayings of famous Americans in history and also a President guide your student can fill out through President Barack Obama.

The durable review cards feature the drill questions from the Student workbook.  So your student can lay out the questions and play a game to help them remember the facts they have been studying.  They contain 150 drill questions, 30 timeline dates, and presidential information.

I really wish that we would have had both of these resources when we first started studying American History last year.  The Story of the Thirteen Colonies & The Great Republic Set and 200 Questions About American History Set have been wonderful.  I only wish that it went through modern history.  I know that would not have been possible due to the publishing date, but hey, I could dream.  As we begin to prepare for the next round of American History study soon, I plan on starting out and using both of these resources from Memoria Press for our study.  The ease of use.  The economical cost.  And the fact that it kept our kids attention so makes it worth it!!  The only thing I will need to add is our use of historical movies, which is easy to do.  Thanks for another great addition to our homeschool Memoria Press!!!

Several members of the Homeschool Review Crew were given the opportunity to review various products from Memoria Press, including First Form Greek Complete Set and Iliad and Odyssey Complete Set.  Be sure to click on the link below to see how they used these resources in their homes and how they liked them.