Vocabulary Spelling City Review

Do you want to hear about my new favorite online learning site?  It's called Vocabulary Spelling City. 

Vocabulary Spelling City is an award winning website for K-12 that focuses on Vocabulary, Spelling, Writing, Parts of Speech, Handwriting, and Alphabetical Order. 

Features:

*  Over 42,000 words with customizable sentences and definitions
*  A real person who says each word and sentence
*  Free home pages for teachers and parents to save lists
*  Teacher Training Videos
*  Free printable handwriting worksheets
*  Free teaching resources with lists and lesson plans
*  Twenty-five games to play online or to print
*  A free forum and newsletters

The BEST part about Vocabulary Spelling City is that you can use the basic features of their site for FREE!!  You simply start by entering your words.

Of course, becoming a premium member has its benefits, which you can see below.

I received a one-year Premium Membership and here is how we have been using it.

Funny Bunny is an excellent speller, so instead of using a spelling and vocabulary list for her grade {which I knew she would have no trouble with} I am making my own lists using her science, history, and math vocabulary words.  I cannot begin to tell you how this has helped her, and it is so much more fun for her than writing definitions or using flash cards.

Once I have added a student, I can either find a pre-made list or create my own.  There are thousands of ready-to-use word lists by subject and/or grade level.  Here is just a peek at what you can find.

The Premium Membership lets me keep track of her progress and I can even organize all of her word lists by type.  For instance, I have all science word lists in the science folder. 

Below you can see that I can view her grades and assignments that she has completed and not yet done.  I can also print off all her grade for my records.

I can also view each activity I selected for a given assignment and its status and score.

My Thoughts:  We are loving Vocabulary Spelling City!  I like that I can use it how I want.  I can use their lists, make my own, make short lists, long lists, and add as few or as many activities to each assignment.  It is really up to me.  It's great that it keeps track of everything and as a reward Funny Bunny can play spelling or vocabulary games. 

Thoughts of a 9-Year Old:  I like Vocabulary Spelling City because it's helping me learn my vocabulary words, their definitions, and how to spell them.  My favorite part of the program is the games.  I would strongly recommend Word -O-Rama.  I also liked: Letter Fall, Practice Paragraph Writing and Practice Sentence Writing (because you get to write whatever you want as long as you include the words).  My mom adds words from our science book and then on my science quiz in school, I got them right!  I really enjoy it.

Find Out More:  You can find out more online at Vocabulary Spelling City.  The cost of their Premium Membership is just $29.99 a year and is for up to five students.  Up to 25 students in a classroom or co-op can use it for just $49.99.  They also have a free app for the iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch.

My Crewmates are also talking about Vocabulary Spelling City, so you can check out what they think about it HERE.

Disclaimer:  This product was given to Our Homeschool Reviews for free for review purposes, and I do not have to return the product to the vendor.  I have received no compensation from it and all opinions and experiences within this review are my own.

Wordless Wednesday: Learning to Fly

Do you remember this picture from last week?  

Well, within just one week these little babies have grown, are out of the nest, and learning to fly.  And mama does not like it when we get close.

Homeschool Mother's Journal 8-13-12

In my life last week…  
 
I had a great week with Thirty-One last week!  I worked on closing and submitting a party, signed up my third recruit, and was able to earn a nice incentive!  My work has been steady and I feel so blessed!  My goal this month is to reach out to new people and schedule parties for October and November. 

In our homeschool last week…  

Funny Bunny finished Unit 6 ~ The Israelites in Egypt in her Heart of Dakota book, Preparing Hearts for His Glory.  I read aloud several chapters in Grandpa's Box and started reading Tirzah aloud.  

 

She also finished Lesson 5 ~ Food Webs in Christian Kids Explore Biology.

My favorite thing last week was…

Listening to Funny Bunny play the piano.  I had to miss her piano recital on Friday but recorded her playing at home.  She makes a couple mistakes in the video because I think she was not thrilled with me recording her {and she wouldn't do a second take}.  She did it perfect at the recital.  :)

Wordless Wednesday: Babies

TODAY ONLY: Thirty-One Sale!

TODAY ONLY I am offering 10% off any new orders of $50 or more!! 

Here you can see the August Special, and the 10% off is my personal discount in addition to the special! 

Browse the catalog and EMAIL ME that you are interested and I'll give you ordering instructions. 

Happy Shopping!

Morning Devotion - Trust

He makes me as surefooted as a deer, enabling me to stand on mountain heights. - Psalm 18:33

Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior. - Habakkuk 3:17-18 

From time to time I'll be sharing passages from our morning devotions.  I hope they can be an encouragement to you!

Our Homeschool Room

I know I've posted some of these pictures before, but I'm going to use them again because nothing has changed.  :)  We have a school room, which is just an extra bedroom that we transformed.  It is not really where we do our school, but mostly where we house all our school stuff. 

Most of the time school work is completed at the kitchen table.  I lay out all school work first thing in the morning and we work side by side.

When it is time for me to read aloud or for her to read to herself, you will find us here, on the couch.  It's more comfortable and we can cozy up together.  

Another place that she likes to read is at her smaller table in the kitchen.  She eats, crafts, and reads here.  It's the perfect size and even I can fit too.  

Sometimes when we both want a change of pace, we will gather the books and head to my bed.  The change of scenery is nice and it is relaxing.

I guess what I am trying to say is that we use most of the rooms in the house, depending on what subject and/or activity.  We also go outside and lay a blanket on the grass when the weather is nice.  

If you missed it, check out our Homeschool Methods and Curriculum Plans for Fourth Grade and Homeschool Planning.

{For some added inspiration...check out last week's Curriculum Blog Hop from the Schoolhouse Review Crew below!}

Florida Home School Directory

Do you have a service or business to offer the Florida homeschool community?  If so, you can add it for free to the Florida Home School Directory. 

The founders, Lee and Kristy Mikell, who are friends of mine, are also the proud parents of three home school children. The Florida Home School Directory was created out of a need to quickly find a variety of services and products for their home schooling journey.  From tutors, to groups, to educational events, the Mikell family really needed a central place to find all of these things.

Have you ever needed to find a particular group or service in your homeschooling journey, but weren't sure where to look?   

Using it is simple!

When each Provider Member joins the directory {which is free}, they chose categories for their information to be listed.  As you find a need in your homeschool, you choose all of your criteria and the Provider Members that have enrolled in that particular category will show up.  You can then contact them directly and seek their services.

Find Out More :  You can find out more about listing or seeking services at the Florida Home School Directory.

Disclosure:  I have received no compensation from writing this post and all opinions and experiences within this review are my own.
 

 

Homeschool Planning?

Would it be bad to say that I don't really plan out our lessons??  I do plan out the curriculum for the year though, and the curriculum I choose plans the lessons for me.  :)

I use Heart of Dakota and this year we are using Preparing Hearts for His Glory.  One of the many things I love about this curriculum is that everything is planned out for me.  All I have to do is open the book and read what comes next.  Each day is a two page spread.

Since a few of the subjects we use are different from what Heart of Dakota recommends, I don't follow every box. 

Below is an example of what I lay out each day for school.  This is the school work for today.  We just complete one thing after the other and I set it aside, so it is very easy to see how much work is left.

As Funny Bunny completes a subject, I log it on her weekly planner.  I created my own sheet for several years, but I really liked this one from SchoolhouseTeachers.com, so this is what we are using now.

So that is a quick peek into how our lessons are planned.    

And if you missed it, check out our Homeschool Methods and Curriculum Plans for Fourth Grade.

{Want to see what other homeschoolers are doing?  Visit all who are participating at the links below.}

Wordless Wednesday: Spy Kid