Friday, August 16, 2013

Homeschool Mother's Journal 8-16-13


In our homeschool this week…     

Funny Bunny finished her first week of Fifth Grade and it went really well.  She completed Unit 1: The Beginning of History and of Sin in Creation to Christ.  

This is the first year she is using a Student Notebook that goes along with the Teacher's Guide and I really like it.  I know it will be a wonderful keepsake when she is done.


For Science she started reading Apologia's Land Animals of the Sixth Day.  Below is a notebooking assignment she completed.


I think our favorite subject has been Art, which goes along with Poetry.  Here is Funny Bunny's watercolor painting and poem excerpt.  


In my life this week…  

Well, you pretty much read about it.  I'm TIRED!!  I've been working hard to keep us on track and apparently, it's hard work...lol!  We were however, able to finish school around noon several days in a row, so that was the reward!!




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©2010-2013 Our Homeschool Reviews. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://ourhomeschoolreviews.blogspot.com/

Thursday, August 15, 2013

Thrifty Thursday


Here are the thrifty deals for today.

FREE - Science Experiment Guide {$25 Value} @ Supercharged Science

FREE - Science Activity Manual and Video Collection {$30 Value} @  Supercharged Science

FREE - Sharing the Gospel eLesson @ Grapevine Studies

FREE - PDF Writing Workbooks @ NaNoWriMo

FREE - First Day of School Downloads @ Designs by Nicolina

FREE - Math Mammoth Percent @ CurrClick

FREE - Copywork Resources and Freebies @ Homeschool Giveaways and Freebies




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©2010-2013 Our Homeschool Reviews. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://ourhomeschoolreviews.blogspot.com/

Wednesday, August 14, 2013

Wordless Wednesday: 5th Grade





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©2010-2013 Our Homeschool Reviews. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://ourhomeschoolreviews.blogspot.com/

Tuesday, August 13, 2013

First Day of 5th Grade


Yesterday was Funny Bunny's first day of 5th grade!  We are trying some new things, like getting up earlier and more independent work, so this first week will be a little trial and error.

Today is day 2 and we are just a bit tired and moving a little slower this morning.  ;)


My posts will be lighter this week as we get into a groove.  If you've started school already, I'd love to hear how your year is going so far.

And if you would like to see what we will be using this year, check out our Curriculum Plans for 5th Grade.



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©2010-2013 Our Homeschool Reviews. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://ourhomeschoolreviews.blogspot.com/  

Friday, August 9, 2013

5 Days of Heart of Dakota: HOD Resources


Today is THE LAST DAY of the August 2013 Crew Blog Hop!  My five day topic is on the Christ-centered homeschool curriculum, Heart of Dakota.  If you missed it, here what I've talked about so far:

Heart of Dakota: Overview
Heart of Dakota: Nitty Gritty
Heart of Dakota: Learning Through History
Heart of Dakota: Day in the Life 

Our Homeschool Reviews Heart of Dakota Posts

Today I thought I would post some great Heart of Dakota resources because there are so many out there.  Below are just a few that I've found.

Heart of Dakota's Official Message Board - Start here!!
Heart of Dakota Blog Roll 2013-2014

Facebook Groups
Heart of Dakota Publishing
Little Hands to Heaven
Little Hearts for His Glory
Beyond Little Hearts for His Glory
Bigger Hearts for His Glory
Creation to Christ 
Resurrection to Reformation
Missions to Modern Marvels
World Geography
Heart of Dakota Buy/Sell/Trade

Yahoo Groups
Homeschooling Heart of Dakota Moms
Heart of Dakota Inspired
Heart of Dakota Buy Sell

Again, thanks for visiting!  I hope this Blog Hop topic has been helpful.  If you use Heart of Dakota with your family, I would love to hear from you.  Oh, and please click the banner below to visit some of the other great bloggers this week!

Summer Blog Hop

And you can click here for past Blog Hops I've participated in.



©2010-2013 Our Homeschool Reviews. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://ourhomeschoolreviews.blogspot.com/  

Knock Book Review and Giveaway!

Knock, by Christa Bradley Dubois, is the first in an exciting new Young Adult Christian Fiction series.

I am thrilled to share this new book with my readers, not only because it was a great read and we need more Young Adult Christian Fiction books available, but also because Christa is a local friend and homeschool mama of four children!!  It's been her lifelong dream to write a book and she as finally been able to accomplish it! 

Book Synopsis: Meet Adam: an average middle school student wading through typical teenage emotions and feelings… until Adam meets Jesse. Who is this strange kid that happens to be around right before things go terribly wrong, almost as if he’s causing bad stuff to happen? Find out through the twists and turns of alternate endings as you decide how things will turn out in Adam’s life. 

Adam’s family has a past, his future is uncertain, and the present is getting really odd ever since Jesse entered the scene. How will Adam get through the maze of friendly jealousy, bad grades, a really mean teacher, and unanswered questions about the new kid in town? Only you can make that call in this first book of an awesome series about coming of age challenges that have the most surprising results.

I read this book aloud to Funny Bunny, who loves choose your own ending adventures.  We read through it several times, until we selected all the endings at least once.

Thoughts of a 10-Year Old:  Knock, by Christa Bradley Dubois, is a good book about a boy named Adam who leads a normal life until a kid named Jesse shows up.  Jesse wants to help Adam out, but does Adam even want his help?  You decide!  I like Knock because it is a book about spiritual choices and it teaches a lesson with every choice. 

A couple things she mentioned to me were that she would have liked the chapters to be a little shorter and she wanted more ending choices.  Of course, that's just her personal preference.  :)

Find Out More:  You can find out more about Knock online at Christa Bradley Dubois.  Knock sells on Amazon for $10.55 for paperback and $6.99 for Kindle.  

--------------------------------------------------------

GIVEAWAY!!

So, here's how one reader can win one (1) copy of the book Knock!  For each comment, you will get one (1) entry.

1. Leave a comment telling me why you would like to win

2. Like Our Homeschool Reviews on Facebook

3. Like Christa Bradley Dubois on Facebook

4. Follow my blog using Google Friend Connect

5. Follow me on Twitter @OurHSReviews

6. Tweet about this giveaway up to once a day:  I entered to #win Knock @OurHSReviews http://ourhomeschoolreviews.blogspot.com/2013/08/knock-book-review.html #Giveaway ends 8/16

**Remember to please leave a separate comment for each entry**

Contest ends on Friday, August 16, 2013 at 11:59 EST.  The winner will be chosen by Random.org.  This contest is open to U.S. residents who are 18 or older.  If I am unable to reach the winner by email within 48 hours, an alternate winner will be selected.  Your entry is only valid if you include a way for me to contact you (either an email address in your comment or on your profile).  The winner's name will be obtained and publicly announced.  The number of eligible entries determines the odds of winning.  No purchase is necessary to win and this contest is void where prohibited by law.



©2010-2013 Our Homeschool Reviews. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://ourhomeschoolreviews.blogspot.com/

Thursday, August 8, 2013

5 Days of Heart of Dakota: Day in the Life


Today is DAY 4 of the August 2013 Crew Blog Hop!  My five day topic is on the Christ-centered homeschool curriculum, Heart of Dakota.  If you missed it, yesterday I discussed Learning Through History, Tuesday I got into the Nitty Gritty of the program and Monday I wrote a brief overview of the program.

Today I want to show you a Day in the Life of Heart of Dakota.  Of course, when I planned to talk about this, I thought we would have started our new school year already, but that hasn't happened.  I'd still love to show you how *I think* we are going to use it though!

I've been telling you all the wonderful things about this curriculum and I have one more to share!  Each book prepares the child to complete more and more work on their own.  The transition is slight with each book change, but it's there.  And with Creation to Christ, Funny Bunny will be doing more work independently!!  Yay!

Each segment of plans has the following designation:

T - Teacher Directed
S - Semi-Independent
I - Independent

And to move Funny Bunny toward even more "Independence," I've created a nice little checklist for her to keep track of what she has finished each day.


I'll also be placing all her resources for each day in this crate to keep everything organized and at hand, right by her desk.


This makes me even more excited to start!!!  And she is very excited too!

Again, thanks for visiting!  If you use Heart of Dakota with your family, I would love to hear from you.  Oh, and please click the banner below to visit some of the other great bloggers this week!

Summer Blog Hop

And you can click here for past Blog Hops I've participated in.



©2010-2013 Our Homeschool Reviews. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://ourhomeschoolreviews.blogspot.com/ 

Wednesday, August 7, 2013

5 Days of Heart of Dakota: Learning Through History


Today is DAY 3 of the August 2013 Crew Blog Hop!  My five day topic is on the Christ-centered homeschool curriculum, Heart of Dakota, and if you missed it, yesterday I got into the Nitty Gritty of the program and Monday I wrote a brief overview of the program.

Today I want to talk about the "Learning Through History" part of the program.  Each book covers a different time frame, so since we are about to start Creation to Christ, I'm going to be focusing on that particular book.

Learning Through History {in Creation to Christ} provides a deeper look at the ancient time period from creation to Christ told in story form. 

The areas listed below are linked with the history stories:

* Corresponding History Readings
* Prophecy Fulfillment Chart
* Guided Written Narrations
* Timeline Entries
* Copywork: Quotes, Verses, and Literature Passages
* Research Questions
* Weekly Hands-on History Projects
* Bible Passage Memory Work
* Step-by-step sketching corresponding with Greece and Rome
* Creation of a History Notebook
* Oral Narrations
* Mapping
* Personal Quiet-time Bible Study of Old and New Testament stories
* Choice of Read-aloud Options
* Corresponding Audio Overview of History

Looking at that list just gets me so excited to get started!!!

This is the first year where we use a Student Notebook and it's specifically made for Creation to Christ.  It is so beautiful and I'm sure will be a keepsake once Funny Bunny has completed it.  Below is a small sample.


The thing I love best about "Learning Through History" is that even all the subjects that aren't directly related to History, like the Poetry and Science, will many times correlate to the part of history we are learning about.

Again, thanks for visiting!  If you use Heart of Dakota with your family, I would love to hear from you.  Oh, and please click the banner below to visit some of the other great bloggers this week!

Summer Blog Hop

And you can click here for past Blog Hops I've participated in.



©2010-2013 Our Homeschool Reviews. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://ourhomeschoolreviews.blogspot.com/ 

Tuesday, August 6, 2013

5 Days of Heart of Dakota: The Nitty Gritty


Today is DAY 2 of the August 2013 Crew Blog Hop!  My five day topic is on the Christ-centered homeschool curriculum, Heart of Dakota, and if you missed it, yesterday I wrote a brief overview of the program.

I'd like to go a little more into detail about what we have used over the years and why.  Below you can see all that Heart of Dakota offers at the moment {they are in the process of adding more}.


We actually took the books a little out of order and started with Preparing Hearts for His Glory when Funny Bunny was in 2nd grade, then we went backwards and used Bigger Hearts for His Glory when she was in 3rd.  I basically did that because we had just finished American History in 1st grade and didn't want to repeat it again the next year.  So here is how the past few years have looked:

2nd - Preparing Hearts for His Glory {overview of world history from creation to late 1900's}

3rd - Bigger Hearts for His Glory {American history from the 1500's - 1970's}

4th - Preparing Hearts for His Glory {we repeated this because we loved it so much and I liked the history overview}

5th - Creation to Christ {we start this next week and it covers in more detail the ancient time period from creation to Christ}

I've actually written quite a bit about our experience using Heart of Dakota. So if you'd like to check out tons of examples of Funny Bunny's work in both Bigger and Preparing, visit the link above.

In Bigger, Funny Bunny loved learning about John Audubon and his fascination with nature. 


Below is an example of how Heart of Dakota is Christ-centered, even when learning about the parts of a flower.


Another thing I love about Heart of Dakota is that it uses a wonderful selection of books!  Our FAVORITE book so far has been Grandpa's Box!!  It is used with Preparing, and I would recommend this book to everyone!  We have read it aloud twice now.

Another great set of books that we were introduced to for science with both Bigger and Preparing are the One Small Square books.  I continuously catch Funny Bunny reading them in her spare time, just for fun.  I love that!  ♥

I am hoping we find a favorite this year while using Creation to Christ.  Below is the lineup for history and science. {click on the pictures to make them larger}  For more detail, I've written a post about our Curriculum Plans for 5th Grade.



Again, thanks for visiting!  If you use Heart of Dakota with your family, I would love to hear from you.  Oh, and please click the banner below to visit some of the other great bloggers this week!

Summer Blog Hop

And you can click here for past Blog Hops I've participated in.



©2010-2013 Our Homeschool Reviews. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://ourhomeschoolreviews.blogspot.com/

Monday, August 5, 2013

5 Days of Heart of Dakota: Overview


I am so excited to be participating in the August 2013 Crew Blog Hop this week!!  90 bloggers are going to post 450 articles in just 5 days!  Topics will range from academics to art to field trips and more!

For this Blog Hop I'll be writing about Heart of Dakota.  If you have been a reader of my blog, you have probably seen me talk about it.  If not, I'd love to tell you more about it!


This will be our FOURTH year using Heart of Dakota!!  I seriously can't believe we have been using it that long!

Today I wanted to share an overview of the program and then later this week get into the nitty gritty of what we will be working on this year.

Heart of Dakota currently offers curriculum for ages 2 all the way up to ages 14-16 and there are plans to go to age 18 through 12th grade.  Here you can find the Scope and Sequence Chart. 

So why do I love Heart of Dakota?  Well, first of all, I love that it is Christ-centered!  All subjects...history, science, poetry, even the grammar they recommend...center around Christ.  Bible is not a subject by itself, it's included in all subjects. 

Second, it's so SIMPLE to use!!  Everything is laid out and all we have to do is follow the plan.  Below is a sample day {just click on it to enlarge it}.  Each day is laid out in a two-page spread and each subject is included in a nice little box so it's very easy to read.


And lastly, I can use as much or as little of it as I want, and I've done both.  The first two years we pretty much used it as written.  Last year I mainly used it for history and some minor subjects, but I substituted several others.  I had accumulated other curriculum over the years that I didn't want to waste but didn't want to abandon Heart of Dakota completely.  This year we will be using it as written once again, except for their recommended math, which I have never used.

So I hope I've given you a little peek into how Heart of Dakota works and why we like it in our  family.  As I continue through the week, I'll be talking about the particular programs we have used and which one we plan to use, how the subjects are broken up, and show some samples of past work.

Thanks for visiting!  If you use Heart of Dakota with your family, I would love to hear from you.  Oh, and please click the banner below to visit some of the other great bloggers this week!

Summer Blog Hop

And you can click here for past Blog Hops I've participated in.

See my other 5 Days of Heart of Dakota posts below:

Heart of Dakota: Nitty Gritty
Heart of Dakota: Learning Through History
Heart of Dakota: Day in the Life 
Heart of Dakota: HOD Resources



©2010-2013 Our Homeschool Reviews. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://ourhomeschoolreviews.blogspot.com/