Inspiration

This week we are discussing Social Studies, History, Geography, and Science.  If you have missed the past two weeks of the fair, you can find my entries with links to the other entries below:

January 2 – Playing With Words: The Language Arts

January 9 – Discovering Patterns: Mathematics, Logic, and some Science

History

I am just going to highlight a couple of the history programs we have used.  If I covered everything, we would be here forever…literally.  I am a history and geography junkie.  Probably because I didn’t get to study it much when I went to school.  So now my poor child gets hit with it at every angle.  Good thing he enjoys it!

 

Mystery of History -This has been one of our favorite history products thus far.  We love how the stories are written in a way that it is easy to learn and understand.  We also like that we can do as little or as much as we want to in other activities.  We have done some lapbooking with this in the past, as well as mapping activities.  I had another program that I had purchased earlier that we have been using as a spine, and we love.  But Chandler has requested that we use these books as well.  He just really enjoys the way the author, Linda Lacour Hobar, writes and shares the stories of HIStory.

 

TruthQuest-  This program is great if you want to use Living Books in your homeschool.  We enjoyed our jaunt with this program.  We just got bogged down in all of the many different books that were recommended by the curriculum.  And quite often, we had a hard time finding a lot of the books in our library.  So we would have to find many alternatives and other resources to round out our studies.  I did really appreciate having a  jumping off point to know what I should cover.  We did well with this program, but I had to exert too much energy at the time to make it work.  Not to say that it is a difficult program to work with at all.  I just didn’t have the time at that time in my life to continue with that pace.  If you like digging and researching, then this program will be a great fit for you.  I honestly wouldn’t mind working with it again when I have more personal time.

Biblioplan-  I originally got this curriculum a few years ago in order to have a great way to line up the Bible with our history lessons.  We really enjoyed it and I liked that I could pick and choose what we used from the schedule it provided.  It did rely on other sources for a spine.  But overall it was an enjoyable experience.  I know that they have been working to improve things and make them even better over the past couple of years.  I believe that there are several incorporating it into their high school programs now.  It is a good, solid program and if you are looking for a program like this, then you will be very happy with Biblioplan.

 

Living History-  We have been using these books for the past 2 years.  The author has written these history books, from an LDS perspective. We have really enjoyed seeing quotes from church leaders about the events of history.  The author has written both world and American history texts.  We used The World Before Christ (Ancient History) Volume 1 and The World After Christ (Modern History) Volume 1, last year.  This year we are using United States History, Volume 1.  The books serve as our main spine, but they are also filled with supplemental suggestions, such as books for further reading, and movies to watch that coordinate with the history lessons.  I have been able to get most everything quite easily, and I really appreciate that.  The texts are written on a higher reading level and are spiral in their approach.  We will be studying The World Before Christ and The World After Christ, Volumes 2 next year.  It will take us back to creation and add to what we already learned last year.  Then we will repeat another volume of American History, and then finish our high school years with Volume 3 of The World Before Christ and The World After Christ.

Science

Last week, I shared with you what we are currently using in our home for Chemistry and Physics.  This week, I just want to highlight our favorite science program that we used last year.

Last year, Chandler wanted to study Zoology.  He didn’t get to study much in that way before we started homeschooling, and he has always had a love for animals.  He briefly toyed with the idea of becoming a zoologist or an entomologist as he loves studying bugs too.  So, being the good mom that I am, I got him the series from Apologia, Exploring Creation with Zoology 1, 2. & 3. 

Yes that is right…we did all 3 volumes in one year.  The fast pace made it more grade level appropriate and Chandler had a ball.  We also did several projects while using the books as a spine.  It was a very successful year in science and I had a very happy boy.  We had tried the General Science course prior to last year, and we just didn’t enjoy it as much as we did the zoology series.  I highly recommend it if you have an animal lover in your homeschool.  It is a great series.

Be sure to check out these other great posts about history and science in the Virtual Curriculum Fair:

Science and Worldview by Beth @ Ozark Ramblings

Nature Study as Science by Christine @ Crunchy Country Catholic

Virtual Curriculum Fair Week 3- Social Studies and more Science by Leah Courtney @ The Courtney Six Homeschool Family

Curriculum Fair–Exploring Our World by Angie @ Petra School

Paths of Exploration by Jen @ Forever, For Always

Learning Geography at Our House by Jessica @ Modest Mama

Mapping Out Our Social Studies by Susan @ Homeschooling Hearts & Minds

The Fascinating World Around Us by Cindy Horton @ Fenced in Family

More Heart of Dakota Praises by Nicole @ Schooling in the Sun

Our History by Melissa @ Grace Christian Homeschool

Playful US Geography for First Grade by Pam @ Everyday Snapshots

Heart of Dakota-The Fine Details-Part 3 History by Lynn @ Ladybug Chronicles

Exploring Our World Through History & Science by Brenda Emmett @ Garden of Learning

Two History Must-haves by Letha @ justpitchingmytent

Learning About The World Around Us by Laura O from AK

Social Studies and Science – What do we do? by Joelle @ Homechooling for His Glory

History Chronologically and with Living Books by Debbie @ Debbie’s Digest

Why History? by MissMOE @ Homeschooling While Living the Life of Easier

Exploring Our World by Christa Darr @ Fairfield Corner Academy

This week we are focusing on Math and the sciences that use math, like chemistry and physics. Like last week, I will share what we have used, what we are using, and what we will be using in the future in our own homeschool

MATH

We didn’t begin homeschooling until 5th grade, so I really don’t have any experience with materials before that grade level. However, some of the products I will talk about, have lower level products that you will want to check out for your own homeschool.

ALEKS is a wonderful online mathematics program that we loved for the majority of our 6th grade year. Chandler was able to grow and excel and he liked trying to fill in his pie chart to complete the course. I have a review on this product, that you can read here. We didn’t continue with it after the year because honestly, Chandler was a little burned out on the program. Some of this was my fault because I made him finish the year, and this was after our regular school year was completed. He still cringes when I mention the program. But it really helped him to grow mathematically, and I do recommend it.

Math Tutor is one of our very favorite video resources for helping to cement math concepts in our brains. Chandler loves to watch these dvds. I have several of these on my shelf. We started with the 1st-7th grade level and have since added Pre-Algebra, Algebra I, Algebra II, word problems, and I am sure we will continue to add these to our math library. Did I say that Chandler loves these dvds? Even though he is doing wonderfully with our current choice for math, he still likes to pop these in and watch them. I did a review for this product that you can read here.

We love the Math Mammoth products around our homeschool. This product has helped us to fill in the holes that we were missing. Whenever we have had an issue, I have pulled out this curriculum and we have worked through the problems and things that were fuzzy have become clear. Can’t say enough good about this math product. And, here is a little secret…I will be announcing a giveaway for the Blue Series–CD or Download–winner’s choice–a little later this week! You will want this product. I am thrilled to be able to do a giveaway!

Teaching Textbooks opened up a whole new world of math and math possibilities for us. We discovered that Chandler learned very well by video and I liked that he had book work as well. Math became less stressful and wasn’t a chore. In fact, Chandler really loved using this program and would often ask if he could do his math work first. Umm…no son. We don’t allow you to be excited about doing your math in our homeschool. NOT. I was thrilled that I only had to collect the grades. It was truly a Godsend and I so appreciated it.

VideoText Algebra is what I originally chose for Chandler last year. He was ready for more advanced math and I thought it would be perfect as it had the video that he responded to as well as the bookwork I liked. I also liked that it was supposed to be a rigorous curriculum. We used it for the first 1/2 of last year. We hated it. The videos were ok, but kind of dated and dry. They just didn’t engage Chandler. I found myself having to reteach concepts. Did I mention that we hated it? I do know that the program is very solid and that it may work for others very well. It just didn’t for us.

Love, love, love, love, LOVE–Thinkwell. This program saved math in our homeschool last year. I had purchased a subscription code for the Pre-Algebra level of this program through the Homeschool Buyers Co-op. I had done this back when I was preparing for 7th grade and there was a group buy. Then I forgot about it. We went to Teaching Textbooks and you know the rest there. Anyway, I found the code just sitting there unused when I was trying to salvage our math last year from the VideoText fiasco. I decided that perhaps stepping back for the rest of the year would be a good move and I used the subscription code. Best decision I have ever made. Chandler LOVED the program. He finished the entire Pre-Algebra curriculum in 4 1/2 months. He voluntarily did 2-3 math lessons a day. He begged me to continue with the program for Algebra I. I never have any trouble getting Chandler to do his math lessons. He just loves the program and the instructor. The video lessons engage him and are funny. The program is just perfect. I love that most of it is graded for me. I do have to grade the worksheets that review what he had learned. But the answer key is easy to follow, so I don’t mind too much. I have already purchased the next two levels for future use, much to Chandler’s delight. I highly recommend this program and would encourage you to check it out. You won’t regret it.

MATHY-SCIENCE

Integrated Physics & Chemistry is what I chose for us to use over two years. We really love this curriculum choice. Chandler loves that it speaks to him instead of over him. He has been learning his chemical and element symbols and is learning a lot about physical science as well. The one thing I wasn’t too excited about was that there are no labs for this curriculum. But we have adapted (what homeschooler doesn’t do this, right?) the class by adding in our own labs. I purchased two lab kits and we do labs once or twice a week to supplement what we are learning. Chandler has really enjoyed it, and so have I. It has seemed to be a really good class for us.

Physics Workshop is what I chose to get for our physics labs. Chandler has had a ball with this kit. He loves doing the labs that are in the included booklet and then showing them off to his grandparents. He loves being able to put what he is learning into action. And this kit really fits the bill for this. It doesn’t hurt that it is also fun. I love it when school is fun. No one minds learning when it is fun. And the best part? I usually don’t have to ask Chandler to do a lab. He loves doing these and looks forward to when science lab shows up on our schedule for the day. What more could a homeschool mom ask for?

Chem C3000 is the big daddy of chemistry kits. If you have followed my blog at all, you already know I have been excited about doing chemistry this year. I never got the chance to do it when I was in high school. And my parents weren’t too keen on letting me have my own chemistry kit. I think they knew that I loved the idea of blowing things up. I still do. Which is why I got the big kit. I wanted to blow things up. Unfortunately, I have to share this kit with my son. He isn’t as excited to blow things up as I am. He follows the directions. He and my husband won’t let me touch the kit alone. I think I scare them. Go figure.

Welcome to this year’s Gratitude Challenge! I am so excited to once again be counting my many blessings. It was such a lift to my spirits to focus on all of the blessings that God has given to me in my life. I loved it. I know it made me a better person. I loved reading all of the blessings that everyone who participated last year shared. My cup was bounteous and full.

I am filled with eager anticipation for the cornucopia of blessings that we will all share with each other this year. I believe it will make us focus on what God has given to us and not concentrate so much on what we may not have in our lives. Our God is truly generous and knows just what we truly need and when. I am blessed to be His child.

So for today, I am thankful and filled with gratitude for being God’s child. He loves me despite my weaknesses and shortcomings. He helps me to stretch and grow each day. He carries me when things are hard and I no longer feel I can go on. He loves me so much, that he sent his son, Jesus Christ, to atone for my sins. I feel so blessed to have the opportunity to learn of Him and to know Him. I feel blessed to have a testimony of his gospel burning in my soul, warm and true.

It saddens me how many of God’s children do not know him or believe in their father. They deny him. How empty they must feel.

I am grateful that I have the knowledge that I do. That I know God truly lives and loves me for me. And he loves me enough to help me to become even better each day.

What are you thankful for today?

Last year I started a Gratitude Challenge for the month of November. I felt that I needed to stop and take time to be filled with gratitude for the things the Lord has blessed me with in my life. It was an amazing experience to come here each day and blog about my blessings.

I am going to do this again this year and once again invite you to participate with me. I will have a linky service each day where you can link to my post and share your own post about what you are thankful for this year. For those who are new to this idea, here are the very loose guidelines and thoughts behind it:

I just wanted to invite you to participate in a Gratitude Challenge for the month of November. When we express Thanks to our Creator for that which He has given to us, we are happier and we are open to receiving even more blessings.

So here is the challenge:

For each day during the month of November, post about something you are thankful for. It can be anything at all. Just as long as you write a post that is filled with Gratitude and a Thankful heart. Post everyday. That means 30 posts. It can be something big or small. You can post a picture or not. It can be a wordless post. Just share something you are grateful for in your life.

I thought I would mention it now so that anyone who wants to participate can. I’ll even make a badge that you can use to show you are participating. I’ll have a linky tool each day where you can link your own Gratitude Post for that day. Let’s count our Blessings and share all of the wonderful things we are each blessed with in our lives. Maybe if we concentrate on all of the good things, the crazy things that are going on in this world won’t seem so overwhelming and discouraging. How about it–Are you with me?

This year, I am inviting you to just post as often as you can. I know some people felt badly when they didn’t post everyday. Not a big deal. Just participate as you can. I will be here every single day. If you can make it all 30 days, then WONDERFUL! Just don’t let a miss keep you from participating.

I have a new button for you all prepared. You can grab it from the sidebar.

See you next Tuesday!