Happenings of a Homeschool Family - Coming Up

Whew!  There are a lot of things going on and a lot of things coming up!  The summer flew by so incredibly fast.  Schools in this area started last week and the big yellow school bus has rumbled down our street 3 or 4 times now.  Thankfully we are not feeling a sense of longing over NOT going to "regular" school this year.  In fact if you interviewed Kayley she would give you a full run-down on why homeschooling is so much better.  I think her biggest reason right now is that we are able to do all kinds of trips that we would be unable to do if she were away all day in class.  It's so true.  We have been counting down the days, waiting for the kids to go back to school so that we can head out to Bass Pro and look at the fish, enjoy the zoo or Discovery Center, or whatever we choose...without the hassle of a million other kids there.  

Although this year, we bought a small swimming pool...which has been SO fun.   It kept us busy in the summer evenings and we hung out a lot more together!  It has been nice to have this as the drought has gotten worse and worse.  I guess if we get thirsty and desperate we can start drinking our pool.  LOL.

With the drought we are seeing an awful lot of this:

Our backyard catches a lot of runoff so we have a really lovely green patch plus the pond.  We are seeing a lot of deer...and for whatever reason we are seeing a mama deer with 3 little ones.  I don't know if she is "babysitting" or if one of these little's have lost their mama but this summer I have been so grateful for our little piece of property and the protection it is providing for the wildlife.    

This goes for our beautiful butterfly bush in the front yard as well...

 

While I have let everything else go, due to the drought, I have worked hard to keep my butterfly bush alive.  I think the butterflies, moths, hummingbirds, bees and such thank me.  At any given time you can walk outside and see upwards of 20 butterflies on the bush...watch out, they dive bomb you when you walk by!  Keeping the mulch damp has provided homes to at least 2 different lizards as well. --and unfortunately a couple of hornets too.  (Sorry--I sprayed them, don't need my girls getting attacked by hornets.)  Just this amazing bush alone has provided hours of entertainment for Kayley.

 

In other news:  we went to the parent orientation for Classical Conversations on Monday afternoon.  I don't know how to describe my feelings toward CC yet.  Kayley will be giving presentations every week, our family will give a large group presentation in November, Maggie will go to a nursery, a lot-lot-lot of memory work, and in general I am mostly terrified and I walked away from the co-op orientation with a sense of "what did I get myself into?"  and "have I completely lost my mind???"

I keep reminding myself that it is for Kayley and it is literally all about meeting people and making friends -- not really academics in our case.  As homeschoolers we have to be intentional in making connections with others and I am making it happen.  I am not really a "go hang out with a bunch of skinny, trendy women" kind of person so if anyone has trouble fitting in and making friends...it is going to be me.  On the upside.  It is not school.  If I don't like it, if Kayley doesn't like it, we can walk away with no strings attached.  Anyway, we start on September 12th and I'm already losing sleep over it.  Ugh!  

Yeah, I think I have it narrowed down to the part where: I don't like being out of my comfort zone.  This definitely takes me outside that safety bubble.  It's been a long time that I've challenged myself in this way and it leaves me feeling insecure and freaking-out-ish.  I'm a bit nervous about losing complete autonomy over curriculum choices, sweating over how challenging it might be to memorize all that stuff, and the fact that I will HAVE to be someplace at a certain time on a certain day.  Not to mention Kayley is very, very hard on herself to be the best at what she does and this program will be extremely challenging for her...and I think, for the first time, she may not be the best.

Either way, I keep reminding myself that it is one year at a time and we do not have to go back next year if it wasn't a good fit for us.  I will still have flexibility.

With that being said, we are wrapping up a few remaining loose items this week from 1st grade.  We will be "officially" starting second grade on Monday, but honestly, grade levels at our house is relative.  We will be doing 2A/2B in Singapore Math, we are already midway through 2nd grade grammar & handwriting and we will be moving into 3rd grade Reading in about 2 weeks.  Kayley has expressed an interest in Astronomy so we will be enjoying Apologia's Exploring Creation - Astronomy series and she is also interested in learning cursive this year so we will be starting that too.  I hope it is a fun year...it will be busy for sure.

This week is also our local Rhea Lana sale.  If you haven't ever had a chance to go to one you should check it out.  Rhea Lana is a consignment sale.   I listed 85 items and so far in the first day I have made over $100.00!  Yay!  Of course, I spent $60.00 so I didn't really make all that much in the end.  LOL.

I have several reviews coming up...Everyday Homemaking, Reading Kingdom, SpeeKee TV, Marshall Publishing, Family Time Fitness, BeeYoutiful, Scripture Power CD, Understanding World Religions in 15 Minutes a Day, 17 Miracles DVD & book, Music Together and ZooWhiz.

Depending on how CC goes we may or may not consider bailing out of the "reviewing business".  There is a definite plus to it, I enjoy trying, sharing, recommending new products but I find that I am getting overwhelmed this season by the amount of work I'm putting into it...  plus it has made blogging more of a chore and taken over my blog.  I'm still debating on this one.  ;)  We'll see.

Oh, I am also planning a few field trips including Titanic, Silver Dollar City Homeschool Days, Sight & Sound Theater to see Joseph, and the Butterfly Palace (I won free tickets!)  There is also, possibly, a trip to DisneyWorld again before the end of the year --fingers crossed!  I'd love to go again!

I think that is a pretty decent update of what is happening here...  Thanks for reading!

Beautiful World - Justin Cash --Deseret Book CD Review [Giveaway!}

I rarely buy church music.  Ok, ok, I'll admit that I rarely buy any music.  I think that it takes something extraordinary about that singer or that song that would make me want to shell out actual money to buy a CD.   I'm not sure why - music is pretty amazing - and music can make you feel so many emotions.  I know it makes chores go faster!  Finding music that is OK for the whole family is pretty tough too.  I remember when my daughter was small that I was listening to the radio and I was suddenly slapped with the realization that not all music is good.  I was suddenly hearing the bad words through a different lens, I heard that suggestive lyrics and from that day on... I stopped listening to the radio all together.  I decided that if it wasn't appropriate for my 4 year old, it wasn't appropriate for me either.  

Now, I do still listen to music.  Of course I do.  I've just had to work harder at finding good music that we can all enjoy as a family.  What?  You would like to find some good music too?  Great!  I'm excited that I can introduce you to one of my new favorites singer/songwriters:  Justin Cash!

Who is this guy?
Justin Cash is a husband of 10 years and dad of three little boys.   A regular, family-guy -- and this shows in his bluesy-jazzy music!  Fun, feel-good, family-friendly songs that you can relax to, be-bop to, and my personal favorite - do chores to!  His song-writing is heavily inspired by his children, his views on the world, and his faith.  You can learn more about Justin by reading his bio!

What do we think of Beautiful World?

Let me put it this way - it has been playing on repeat for the last several days.   My personal favorite is the title song, Beautiful World....my girls are partial to Rain, Rain!  You can listen to snippets of Justin's music on his webpage: http://gojustincash.com/ or enjoy this great song: If You Try...

Get to Know Justin:

Justin tells us that music is a gift that you can give your kids for their entire lives.  In this video he shares how you can give this gift to your children and what has worked for him and his family...   He insists that music a lost art that, when given to our children, will keep our culture vibrant and alive!  Check it out! 

Beautiful World retails at Deseret Book for $15.28 as a CD or $10.99 as an MP3 Download.

Here is a great deal!  I have been given the opportunity to giveaway one copy of Beautiful World to a lucky reader!  If you would like to enter to win a copy fill out the Rafflecopter below.  Drawing ends on Monday, August 27th at midnight.  Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclaimer:  I received Beautiful World free of charge in exchange for an honest review.  All opinions expressed herein are my own.

The Bible in 90 Days

Last year I participated in a program through MomsToolbox where we read the entire Bible in 90 Days.  It was challenging but rewarding.  I'm excited to participate again this year!  I just barely caught it!  It starts today!  If you are interested in participating, visit the link below!  

B90D here I come!  Again!  ;0)

I Don't Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist - Schoolhouse Crew Review

Christians today often struggle with answering the questions of "why" they believe in God, "how" they know that He exists, and "what" to do when people ask about their beliefs.  I know sometimes I squirm when people start asking those questions.  I get confused and I don't know what to say.   I wish I did --and soon I will!  Thanks to the Schoolhouse Review Crew, I have been blessed to review an amazing Christian Worldview curriculum that is brand new from Apologia aimed at High Schoolers!  I Don't Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist by Norman L. Geisler and Frank Turek offers the student a deep look into the Christian faith and address the myth that religion is only a matter of faith - when in reality it is a matter of fact.  Utilizing their "Twelve Points that Show that Christianity is true" Geisler and Turek maintain, "once one looks at the evidence, it takes more faith to be an atheist than it does to be a Christian."

Together the workbook and text are amazing.  The workbook is what you would expect from Apologia.  Very thorough, very organized, very easy to use. 

 

Nicely spiral bound the workbook addressed key topics that include:

1.  Key terms/vocabulary

2.  Hook Questions - warm up questions to remind you about the text discussion.

3.  Biographies & excerpts from the lives of influential Christians through out the world.

4.  Ideas for further research and reflection

5.  Assignment suggestions including writing prompts and research paper recommendations.

6.  What Do I Do Now?  How to use the information that you are gleaning from the text.

The main content of each chapter is presented in four sections:
Hook - questions to get your brain juices flowing and get you hooked in to the information.
Book - takes you deeper into the text and testing your knowledge and comprehension.
Look - builds on your knowledge with research assignments
Took - summarize and "take away" of the concepts you have studied.

Each workbook section repeats this pattern for each corresponding text reading.

Some of the workbook questions were tough enough that I had to spend several days re-reading to formulate an opinion.  This study offers a lot of ideas and concepts I have never questioned or pondered.  Such as:  "Can you think of any areas in your life where you aren't as careful as you should be about discovering the truth?  Explain."  Like I mention later, it took me over a week just to read through the introduction and decide where I stand on the worldview spectrum.

In the book Geisler and Turek share the three major religious worldviews.  Comprehending how others view God and the world relative to Christianity adds to the idea that it takes much more faith to believe that there is NO God at all than it does to believe that there is a supreme being responsible for the creation of all things. 

The text is quite incredible.  Beware!  It is a LOT.  It is meaty.  It literally took nearly two weeks to just read through the introduction and first chapter alone - and that is without getting started on the workbook.  I am not scholarly by any means (it has been a while since I have done any schoolwork above a 2nd grade level!) and it is a well written book - not above my head.  It is just so much to absorb and it is all so valuable.  I felt like I was parched for the evidence that supported my beliefs and finally, finally I was given a cool drink.  Reading this study, pondering, reflecting and praying over the questions in the workbook are slowly, but surely, rehydrating my dry soul.  Amazing.  Truly Amazing.  Looking back at my book there are tabs and sticky notes decorating the pages.  Reminders of things that I wanted to read again (and maybe again and again) and then share with my husband!

While this study is geared toward High Schoolers please believe me when I say that this study has been incredible for me as an adult as well.  It has been so long since I have taken a college course and this really fed my love of learning.  This series challenges even the oldest student to learn the evidence and arguments that support Christianity.   It forces you to take a hard look at what you believe and defend it.  I enjoyed using this book daily as a part of my regular scripture study and then I would typically finish up my study while my daughter worked on her own schoolwork.  It is recommended that each chapter take 2 to 3 weeks although I can see how I may want to slow down even more and really absorb the material.  My husband and I have enjoyed some lively discussions based on the reading and I hope that I can convince him to begin this study with me! 

I Don't Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist retails for $16.00 and the workbook for $33.00 and can be purchased on the Products page.

You can download a sample chapter from the text or a sample chapter from the workbook to get a feel for this program.  Here is the table of contents:

Don't worry, for those Type A parents like me -- Apologia also offers a password inside the workbook to download free chapter tests and answer keys plus the answer key for the workbook from their website for a well-rounded Bible/Apologetics course for your high schooler! 

I know that several of my crewmates had an opportunity to review this product, to read their thoughts click the link below!

Disclaimer:  I received I Don't Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist free of charge in exchange for an honest review.  All opinions expressed herein are my own.

Pretty Darn Funny CD - Deseret Book Review {and Giveaway!}

Pretty Darn Funny!

Pretty Darn Funny is a comedy web series that follows Gracie Moore, a mom who gets more than she bargains for when she forms an all-female comedy troupe in efforts to clean up the local comedy scene. It features a cast of colorful, loveable characters. It will make you laugh. It might make you cry (from laughing so hard). However you spin it, we know you'll think it's Pretty Darn Awesome.

Each new “bite-sized” 6-8 minute webisode is released weekly and is designed for your busy lifestyle. (Meaning you can watch it in-between picking up your kids from soccer, making a fabulous meal that half of your kids will probably refuse to eat, and composing what is sure to be the best blog post ever written in the history of the world. You know, in all your free time.)

In April, Deseret Book launched a new web series called Pretty Darn Funny.  And it is -- Pretty Darn Funny!  Now available from Deseret Book is the Pretty Darn Funny music CD inspired by the original web series!   Featuring Mercy River, Catherine Papworth, Stephanie Mabey, Caelee Reed, and more, this CD of 11 fun and inspirational songs are sure to be one of your favorites.  This CD includes a FAVORITE of my kiddo's a remix of Popcorn Popping by April Meservy.  My girls dance around the living room and ask me to play this song again and again and again!

Pretty Darn Funny retails at Deseret Book for $16.98 as a CD, or for $9.99 as an MP3 download.

Enjoy the interactive player below to hear samples!  

You can also view the original webisodes on PrettyDarnFunny.com for free!

Do you like what you hear, would you like to enjoy your own copy of Pretty Darn Funny?   Thanks to Deseret Book I am able to share one copy with one of my readers!  Enter to Win!  Contest ends August 22nd at Midnight! 


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclaimer:  I was given Pretty Darn Funny free of charge in exchange for an honest review.  All opinions expressed herein are my own!  Thank YOU Deseret Book!!