Updated Long Term School Plans for the Girls

It has been about a year since I wrote out our long term plans for the kids. Of course, as expected things have changed a bit so I am updating it to reflect those changes and to talk about what we actually did for the 2012-2013 school year as compared to what I had planned. Our school year start date has changed to closer meet with the traditional date (it has to do with the sales cycles for curriculum) so we are starting July 15th this year. Here is a link to the old post so you can see how things changed. As a side note, Luke starts this year, but this plan does not include him. I will have to write him up separately as the gap between him and his sisters is large enough that I won't be able to combine much.

I'm going

We are still on track for history. Over the summer we have covered early American history and just started on a Texas State History notebook which will be finished pretty quickly.

2012 Ancient History (Mystery of History Volume 1) COMPLETED
2012-2013 Middle Ages (Mystery Of History Volume 2) ON SCHEDULE TO START MONDAY
2013-2014 Renaissance (Mystery of History Volume 3)
2014-2015 Revolutions (Mystery of History Volume 4)
2015-2016 American History and British History (Long way off so haven’t decided which curriculum)
2016-2017 Ancient History
2017-2018 Middle Ages
2018-2019 Renaissance
2019-2020 Revolutions
2020-2021 American History
2021-2022 Civics and Politics

Science Cycle- I had great intentions. We got through Astronomy and are finishing up Botany right now, but I have decided to lapbook our way through the rest of elementary science then pick up the text books again in 6th grade. Since Keira and Brianna are both doing the same exact work, I am considering them both as 4th grade so they can just stick to the same schedule.

I am still tossing up Apologia for the jr.high and high school. My other thought is Bob Jones. I really like the look of it, but I still have plenty of time to change my mind.

2012-2013 Intro to Biology, Physics, Chemistry, and Astronomy (RS4K) COMPLETED
2012-2013 Astronomy and Botany (Apologia) COMPLETED
2013-2014  Lapbooking
2014-2015 Lapbooking
2015-2016 General Science
2016-2017 Biology and Marine Biology (Apologia)
2017-2018 Anatomy and Physiology (Apologia)
2018-2019 Chemistry (Apologia)
2019-2020 Advanced Chemistry (not sure but probably at a college)
2020-2021 Physics (not sure but probably at a college)
2021-2022 Advanced Physics (again probably college)


Math: I have completely ditched Teaching Textbooks. It just wasn't working for my daughter who is easily overwhelmed with visual and audio input. We are now using Bob Jones and it seems to be working well. I talked to her about swapping to Math U See but she asked me to stay with BJU.

2012 Teaching Textbooks 3 COMPLETED
2012-2013 BJU 3 COMPLETED
2013-2014  BJU 4
2014-2015 BJU 5
2015-2016 BJU 6
2016-2017 BJU Fundamentals of Math
2017-2018 BJU Pre-Algebra
2018-2019 Algebra 1
2019-2020 Geometry
2020-2021 Algebra 2
2021-2022 Pre-Calculus and Economics

English: Each year will automatically include spelling and vocabulary. We had to back track a bit to re-enforce some grammar so we tracked to be a year behind on grammar. I plan on doubling up some lessons here and there to get us back on track eventually, but it will probably take the entire year to do so. I added in formal writing with Institute for Excellence in Writing. We are using BJU for spelling and vocabulary and are just going at whatever pace we need to. We are also doing a final phonics run through using Rod and Staff. We should be finished with that by the end of the first trimester.

2012-1013 Easy Grammar 2 COMPLETED
2012-2013 Easy Grammar 3 and beginning writing techniques WORK IN PROGRESS
2013-2014 Easy Grammar 4 and continuing writing techniques
2014-2015 Easy Grammar 5 and continuing writing techniques
2015-2016 Easy Grammar 6 and Creative Writing (Thinking Abeka but that is a while off)
2016-2017 Daily Grammar 7 and continuing writing techniques
2017-2018 Daily Grammar 8 and research paper-Old World Literature
2018-2019 Daily Grammar 9 and Poetry Anthology- New World Literature
2019-2020 Daily Grammar 10 and Creative Writing-American Literature
2020-2021 Daily Grammar 11 and the Art of Debate-British Literature
2021-2022 Daily Grammar 12 and Research Paper (or English 1301 in college)

Foreign Language:

I really need to get on this.



Bible: We are still trucking through the Life Pacs but I have decided to make them a personal study time and have picked up Apologia's World View Series. I honestly have no idea how long each book will take us to get through so I am guessing at about a year each. I am not sure what is going on with the years, but we are pushing through the early sets at a faster pace than I anticipated so it will likely right itself before too much longer.

2012-2013 Life Pac 2 COMPLETED
2013-2014 Life Pac 3
2014-2015 Life Pac 4
2015-2016 Life Pac 5
2016-2017 Life Pac 6
2017-2018 Life Pac 7
2018-2019 Life Pac Practical Christianity and Church History
2019-2020 Life Pac New Testament Survey
2020-2021 Life Pac Old Testament Survey
2021-2022 Life Pac Bible Doctrine
2022 Life Pac Christian Faith and Living


Home Economics:

2013-2016-Health and Safety
2017-Nutrition and Food Preparation
2018-Sewing Basics and Historical Arts (canning, embroidery and so on)
2019-Cleaning and Home organization
2020-Etequette and Hospitality
2021-Holistic Medicine and First Aid
2022- Finances and Consumer Math

My DH will take care of computer science, though I will also encourage them to take it as a dual enrollment class their senior year since most degrees require a college level computer science course. I also didn't include reading but you can read our 2013-2014 list here.

Of course all this is subject to change as needed. I will also allow them to chase some self-led interests, but over all this is what I believe they need to have a well rounded school experience with a Biblical world view. Let me know if you see something missing!

Apologia Astronomy Supplemental Resources

I know I have been the worst blogger ever these last few weeks. I will catch everyone up on our move soon, but now that we are in my parents house and in a school routine I have some time to share some projects with you!

This is our first year using a full on formal science curriculum. Last year we used Real Science 4 Kids Pre-Level 1 and loved it. It was just right for the stage that we were at. This year though, I decided to go with Apologia Astronomy for the first half of the year and Apologia Botany the second half. This post will focus on resources for Astronomy.

Before I get into the resources let me just do a quick non-sponsored review. We LOVE this science. I wanted something with real meaty information, just enough young earth creationism (I prefer to supplement in my own theology as much as possible, but wanted the book to have a definite young earth world view) and that was hands on. This science meets all three of those! We also added in the junior level journals, which like the curriculum, are fabulous!

This is going to get quite lengthy but I wanted to put all the information on one post to make it easier to find, and who am I kidding, it does better on Google that way too hehe. I will add to this list as we work our way through the curriculum. Some books will not be from a creation world view. I will put an (S) beside anything secular and a (OE) beside any Christian resources that take an old earth world view. I personally believe it is very important to teach my kids all of the views so that we can reason out together the flaws with the secular and old earth views. These will be appropriate for up to about 4th grade.

Reading List:

Non-Fiction:

Exploring Our Solar System: The Stars (S)

This entire series is (S):
A True Book Mercury
A True Book Venus
A True Book Earth
A True Book Mars
A True Book Jupiter
A True Book Saturn
A True Book Uranus
A True Book Neptune
A True Book Pluto
A True Book The Sun
A True Book Constellations
A True Book The Moon
A True Book The Stars
A True Book The Solar System

Answers in Genesis Astronomy Resources

Picture Books and Fiction:

What Does the Sun Do?
The Sun is My Favorite Star
Happy Birthday Moon
I Want to be an Astronaut
What's Out There?
If You Decide to go to the Moon

Usborne (S):

First Encyclopedia of Space
See Inside Space
The Usborne Book of Astronomy and Space
Living in Space

Internet Resources:
Solar Eruption
Astronomy for Kids
NASA Solar System Exploration
DVD Resources:
In the Shadow of the Moon

Supplies for Experiments from the Text:

Home Science Tools Kit
Creation Sensation Deluxe Kit

Supplemental Science Experiments:

All about the Sun  (S)
Make a Solar Cooker (S)
Make a Solar Still (S)

Astronomy Art/Craft Projects:

Make a Paper Plate Sun
Make Your Own Sundial
Make a Planetarium Box

Not So Scary Halloween Art, Lesson Plans, Lapbooks and Activities

We don't celebrate Halloween for personal reasons (this is not an attack on those who do, this is just our personal conviction), but there is no getting around the kids knowing it exists so we take this opportunity to do some "not so scary" activities. Besides, you don't have to celebrate halloween to know that bats, bugs and all things creepy crawly are pretty cool!

Check out this cool pumpkin eyeball! This could be a great opportunity to learn about the parts of the eye and how they work.


This terra cotta pot pumpkin would make a cute decoration that you can leave out for Thanksgiving as well!

Who doesn't love learning about mummies? Do this mummy craft and visit the mummy maker to see if you can make your own mummy the ancient Egyptian way!

In this really cool Curiosity Files unit study Anna Lyze takes you into the world of Zombie Fire Ants. Best of all it is currently on sale for just $1!!

And halloween wouldn't be complete without exploring the grossest of body functions. Learn all about what causes zits, vomiting and even scabs and puss. GROSS!!!

These are just a few of the great ideas you can find all over the internet. So if you don't trick or treat, don't worry, you can still have lots of fun exploring the creepy and the disgusting!

Aluminum Foil Crafts

This blog is in honor of my friend Jessica over at Feeding the Family for Less. We had a bit of a joke about her doing a blog on aluminum foil. I got the feeling that she thought I should stick with writing homeschool posts. I agreed, but why can't I do both. So here it is, a homeschool post about aluminum foil:

The History of Aluminum Foil

All About the Element Aluminum

How is Aluminum Recycled?

Aluminum Can Crafts

You can use foil to make models or to do embossing crafts too!

Octopus Lapbook Resources

This is actually a cake!!! How cool is that?!

When my daughter picked out a stack of octopus books from the library I figured it was time to go down one of those rabbit trails homeschoolers always talk about. Octopus lapbooks are not easy to come by so here is a list of the resources I found for this lapbook. Most of these will be from http://www.homeschoolshare.com/ and will be under the Nico's Octopus Unit Study.


Vocabulary Pocket
Singular and Plural Word Practice
Prefix Oct-
What Color Would You Be?
Octopus Senses
Octopus Defenses
Octopus Anatomy
Octopus Arms
Octopus Facts for Kids
Toilet Paper Roll Octopus Craft

Home Science Tools $30 Gift Card Giveaway!

Ahhhh, that was a nice break! Over this past weekend I flew up to Virginia to visit my brother who is stationed at Langley AFB. It was a fast and furious weekend of going here and there and by the time I got home, I was exhausted. Since it took me 4 days to recover from my 3 day visit I haven't written anything and now it is time to get back to work!

So, to ease myself back into blogging (because you know, I was gone for nearly a whole week. I hope I remember how this is all done), I am going to tell you about one of my absolute favorite homeschool resource stores, Home Science Tools. But that isn't all! I am also going to give one lucky reader a $30 gift card!

The subjects in which homeschooling parents are required to freak out about are in this order: reading, math and science. Well, I do, scratch that did, freak out about the first two, but because I found Home Science Tools early on in our journey, I never had to worry about science!

Check out some of these affordable products carried by Home Science Tools:

Microscopes




Lab Equipment




Kits for All Ages

And this is not even close to everything! Everything from anthills to dissection equipment, I could just go on and on! They even have kits specifically for most of your major curriculum brands!

Now for the fun part! Home Science Tools has offered me ONE(1) $30 gift card good for anything on their site!! In order to be entered for one(1) entry, you MUST visit the Home Science Tools website and tell me what you would spend the gift certificate on. None of the bonus entries will count if you do not complete this first entry. For one(1) entry you can Follow My Blog. For one(1) entry you can "Like" Molding Minds Homeschool on Facebook. For one(1) entry you can Share On Facebook or on on your favorite social media site (to share just cut and paste this blog into your status and let me know where you shared). For one(1) entry you can follow Molding Minds on Twitter. This is a total of FIVE(5) chances to win!

Please post a SEPARATE COMMENT for each entry and be sure to leave an email address for me to contact you at if you win! Multiple entries in a single comment will not count! Be sure to read the entry requirements thoroughly!

Winners will be chosen Monday, August 1st at 7PM central and will be notified via email. Winners will have 72 hours to respond.

US Residents Only. I was not paid for this review. I was offered the gift certificate in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are 100% mine. Please take a moment to read my disclosure policy.

The Mom I'm Bored Jar

If there are any two words that I dislike hearing they are "I'm Bored". Despite the overwhelming number of toys that my children have, the big back yard complete with trampoline and playground, the numerous art supplies and their siblings, my children never seem to have anything to do.

This could be the most amazing idea I have ever seen. The I'm Bored Jar. There are so many variations of things you can do with this that it makes it the perfect customizable summer idea! I sat the girls down and we came up with a list of about 50 different "I'm bored activities". I will have them pull a card and do each activity for 30 minutes. Once the card is drawn I will move it out of the box until all of the other cards are drawn.

Here is our list of I'm Bored Activities. Feel free to use it :)

Make a Puppet
Have a Puppet Show
Blow Bubbles
Write a Book
Write a Letter
Read a Book
Play Outside
Play Stuffed Animals
Dress Up
Finger Paint
Draw a Picture
Play Store
Chore (x's 5)
Snack Time
Go to Neighborhood Park
Paint Toenails
Computer Time
Play Doh
Tea Party
Simon Says
Play Animals
Trains
Science Experiments
Window Markers
Scavenger HuntSoccer
Hopscotch
Mud Pies
Bake with Mama
Music Band
Wii
Tinker Toys
LegosPattern Blocks
Write in Journal
Collect Bugs
Build a Pillow Fort
Make a Bracelet
Ride Bike
Sidewalk Chalk
Water Guns
Make a Movie
Board Game
American Girl Dolls
Water Slide
Nature Walk
Hide and Seek
Tag
Leap Frog
Follow the Leader
Take a Bubble Bath
Work a Puzzle
Mazes
Dot to Dot
Word Search

You will notice some of these are outside but I thought that limiting them to 30 minutes at a time would help with avoiding sunburns and heat exhaustion. You will also notice that I have snuck in 5 chore cards, hehe. We will probably add to these as we think of other fun activities. If you have any ideas for us please feel free to let me know!

Lego Lesson Plans

My kids have buckets of them and we can never seem to have enough, I vaccuum them up by the dozens and my son likes to collect the little yellow heads and leave them in piles on the floor. What am I talking about? Lego of course! Legos are a wonderfully diverse manipulative that kids think are toys(wink wink). Besides the hours of fun provided by these simple plastic bricks, there are also hours of learning to be had! Here are some fun Lego lesson plans and educational activities I found.

Build a windmill and learn all about windmill architecture and renewable energy.

Center of mass-This activity explores the concept of 'center of mass.' It gives students a hands-on, discovery-based way to understand one of the most fundamental concepts in physics.

Use Legos to study geography.

Build a Lego boat and study bouyancy with this fun activity.

This can you build it? Lego lesson plan teaches cooperation and problem solving as one student describes the pieces needed to build an object as the other builds it.

Lego Math


Finally, my favorite Lego find so far is this Lego Lapbook!

For more ideas for Lego lesson plans visit Lego Eduction.

Summer Curriculum Choices with Quick Reviews

I went to the Arlington Homeschool Book Fair with a list. I was organized and had a plan. Then I got there, and the plan went out the window. I mean seriously! Do you know how many vendors are at a typical homeschool book fair? It is unreal. I went with the full intention of getting the next level of Abeka. I browsed and picked out my books. Then the lady tells me that they don't keep stock. Now maybe this isn't the best reason to ditch a well researched and thought out curriculum choice, but I did. I walked around the corner and found Rod and Staff. I ended up purchasing the full year of language arts for both the girls.

I'm pretty excited about all of the things we are trying this year so for those of you still deciding here is what we are going with for this "semester":

Language Arts, Spelling and Reading: Rod and Staff

Coming from Abeka I thought we pretty much had intense covered. I was wrong. The 1st grade is starting a bit below where Keira is, but it picks up quickly. Brianna is struggling with her attitude with the new stuff. Not because she doesn't know the work, but more because there is so much of it compared to the Abeka. Each lesson consists of 2 phonics pages and 4 reading. She is thriving on it though and once I get her past the tantrums of having to do the pages, I think she will match very well with it. It gives a good phonemic base and has them reading stories that are very Bible based. Even better is it is reasonably priced.


Latin: Song School Latin

We will actually start this on Monday and do it either once or twice a week. I haven't decided yet. It's very basic, using songs and chants to learn vocabulary. The one thing I am worried about is the apparently huge jump between Song School and Latin for Children Book A. I have heard that they are working on Song School Latin Book 2 though. For the cost, this one is definitely worth exploring.

Bible, Science, History and Social Studies: The Weaver Volume 1

This is every parents dream, especially if you have more than one spread over multiple levels. It literally takes these 4 subjects (also included are Language Arts and Creative Writing. We will are not using the Language arts because I didn't feel it was comprehensive enough. The creative writing we wing by using journals and just writing what is interesting to us), and weaves them together. One just flows into the other. Best of all every child stays on the same topic while Weaver adjusts the difficulty to that level! Here is an example of both ideas. One day your Bible lesson is about the wise and the foolish man. You read the Bible story and talk about how Jesus is our foundation and so on. Then you go outside and collect soil samples. You pour water on them and talk about the result. The younger children then talk about things needed to build a good strong house and then build one out of Legos or what ever. Middle elementary makes a list of materials needed to build a strong building, and upper writes a paragraph on what it takes to build a strong building. Now these are just my examples (though some of these are things we have done with Weaver), but you get the idea. For a more comprehensive review you can visit Christa's Weaver Review Here.

Cursive: TBD

I just haven't found anything I love so at the moment cursive is random bits of copy work.

Art: Artistic Pursuits Book 2

We love this art. It gives us the perfect mix of art appreciation and art instructions. And it's real art. I don't feel like I need to be an artist myself to teach this book. However, I have heard some parents say they prefer more art instruction so be sure to check the book out before you buy!

Lot's of Lapbooks:

Because Weaver is designed to last 9 months and we are stretching it to a year (blog coming soon!) we will be adding in lapbooks as a fun way to supplement. Currclick offers lots of fun and sometimes FREE LAPBOOKS.

One of the great things about homeschooling is getting to start fresh and change up the things that didn't work for you. I am very excited and am looking forward to sharing how everything worked for us!

Ice Cream Lesson Plans and Printables

Summer is here and you know what that means, ICE CREAM!!! For school today we are going to be doing all of our lesson plans with a sweet treat twist! Because I teach pre-kers on Mondays I will be including in some of the printables I used with them. July is technically National Ice Cream month but we finish with the pre-k in May so we are doing it early. You will have to excuse my excessive use of exclamation points. How can you help it when you are doing something so fun?!


Letter of the Day: I is for Ice Cream! Print this out for some penmanship work. If you have a younger child this page can be colored or stamped.

K5 and up will enjoy this Free Ice Cream Lapbook! With plenty of printables you can easily adapt this to your older or younger children. We are going to have alot of fun doing this Acrostic Poem!

For art we are going paint with popsicles that I made in advance. I used popsicle molds but ice trays and popsicle sticks are a good way to do it too!

This is a "vintage" audio clip about how ice cream is made!

Picture Credit


Of course an ice cream themed lesson plan would not be the same without some ice cream chemistry. Otherwise known as, ice cream in a bag! Learn all about the whys and hows of making ice cream and enjoy a yummy reward at the end!


Here are a few other printables I thought you might enjoy, all ice cream themed! We used this survey sheet to collect data on our friends and family's favorite flavor and then graphed it here on this ice cream themed graph paper!

The Curiosity Files Explorations: The Platypus Review

We have alot of fun with most of the products I am asked to review. In fact I can't think of any that we haven't been able to enjoy or make enjoyable. However, I don't often find one that I want to rave about. This one is it! The Curiosity Files- Platypus, a downloadable unit study (the bundle can be purchased on CD), by The Old Schoolhouse, has been a truly enjoyable unit study! Professor Ana Lyze (bu dum ching!), does an excellent job of making the oddities of the platypus and interesting and fun experience. Plus, it is very reasonably priced at just $6.95! Even better is that there are 9 in the series, and they can be purchased as a bundle for a nearly $2 savings per study!

The study is very comprehensive and while we did squeeze it into a few days (we were having so much fun we couldn't stop!), it could easily be spread out over a week or maybe even two if you followed the "rabbit" trails that pop up, and trust me, even with my younger girls we had plenty of them.Because it included Bible, math, language arts, poetry, copy work, science and even some history, you could easily put all other work on hold to do this study. And, anytime I don't have to search down extra links and resources for a study I am excited. Dozens of links and website suggestions are included in the study. It saved me alot of time not having to search for graph paper, pictures of platypus burrows, and so on. As with most studies you can always add library books, but I didn't find them necessary at all. The reading portion is well laid out, though for my children's ages (6 and 7) I did have to use some different wording and I skipped portions of it that were more geared towards older children. However, considering the study is rated for ages 8-13, I found it very easy to adapt to my own children's ages. After we got past the reading is where the real fun began for us. The platypus unit study has numerous hands on skills in all areas. We glued beans into drawn illustrations of burrows, graphed beads, made tent "burrows", solved word searches and there were so many things I either didn't list or we didn't have the time to do! I am telling you, this study was just packed with these activities!

I think what I loved most as teacher, is the adaptability of the study. A few ways we adapted included counting out our beads by 's and 10's instead of using the worksheet and as I men

(I should say that since my kids are younger we leaned towards and enjoyed the hands on activities in the study, but there were plenty of more in-depth lessons and worksheets for older students as well. Though, the activities are enjoyable for the older ones as well! )

I only have one complaint about the study and it is just a matter of personal preference. I like to print out hard copies of my unit studies that I keep in binders. I just find it easier for me to read that way. This particular study has alot of graphics and background images that make it impossible to print without using an enormous amount of ink. This is minor though and is not going to keep me from purchasing the other studies available in this series.

You can purchase this unit study as well as many other great products from The Old Schoolhouse website or you can call at 1-888-718-HOME. Be sure to check out the sales. Some of this series is on sale for just $1.00! And if you buy and don't love it, The Old Schoolhouse has a 7 day money back guarantee on all e-books published by TOS.


PS: As soon as my husband reveals the top secret location of the cord I need to download photos from my camera, I will add a few pictures of some of our favorite things we did!

I was given this unit study free from TOS to review. Everything written here is 100% honest and 100% mine.

Butterfly Lesson Plans, Crafts and Resources

I bought the girls a few insect habitats around Christmas, including the Insect Lore Butterfly Kit.




This was one of the best things we have done. Our caterpillars arrived within a few days of ordering and we watched them double in size nearly every day! After they were done growing we watched them go from hanging upside down to transforming into chrysalis' and then into butterflies. Today we released them out at my parents and watched them flit from flower to flower. Everyone from my husband to my 2 year old enjoyed this project and we will definitely be re-ordering!

Spring is the perfect time to study about insects that help pollination. Here are a few resources to help with your butterfly lesson plans, crafts and lapbooking:

Butterfly Lapbook by Hands of a Child

Butterfly Crafts

Painted Lady Life Cycle Video

Free Butterfly Lapbook Resources

Butterfly Lesson Plans

Butterfly Pollination

Animal Cam: Decorah Eagles

I love watching the animals on these animal cams! This one is a great view of a pair of Decorah Eagles that have 2 hatched babies and 1 on the way! You can even visit youtube and see the video collages of the first two hatching!

Edible Rock Recipes for Geology Lesson Plans

We are doing geology in Weaver right now. Suits my youngest daughter perfectly, as she loves to collect treasures from nature. When she was nearly 3 we took the girls to Disney World and as all the characters passed us by we found her collecting giant leaves. These days we have similar stories to tell about her collecting rocks.

You can visit my post on Making Your Own Rock Candy for lessons related to crystals and minerals. For the three basic rock types here are some recipes to make your geology lessons fun and hands on!

Igneous Rocks

1 can evaporated milk (6 oz.) 1 1/2 cups sugar 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup chopped nuts 1 1/4 cups tiny marshmallows 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips 1 teaspoon vanilla 1. Grease an 8 x 8 or 9 x 9 inch pan. 2. Combine evaporated milk with sugar and salt in a saucepan. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring for 5 - 9 minutes. 3. Remove from heat. Add remaining ingredients and stir gently. 4. Pour into prepared pan. Let cool. (Refrigerate) 5. 1 pan (8 x 8) makes 30 1 inch squares.

Metamorphic Rocks

1/2 cup shortening or margarine 1 cup brown sugar 1/2 teaspoon vanilla 1/2 cup chopped nuts 1/2 cup well-drained crushed pineapple 1 egg, beaten 1 cup whole wheat flour 1 cup flour 1 teaspoon soda 1 teaspoon salt 1. Cream the shortening and the sugar. 2. Add the beaten egg and vanilla. 3. Add the dry ingredients and mix. 4. Stir in the fruit and the nuts. 5. Drop by teaspoonful onto cookie sheet. 6. Bake for 7 minutes at 375 degrees. Note: Chocolate chips, coconut, wheat germ, etc. can also be added.

Sedimentary Rocks

1 1/4 cups crushed flake cereal 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar 1/2 cup margarine 1 cup chocolate or butterscotch chips 1 1/4 cups coconut 1 cup chopped nuts 1 can sweetened condensed milk (14 oz.) 1. Melt the margarine. 2. Mix with the cereal and the sugar to make cereal layer. 3. Press into an 8 x 8 or 9 x 9 pan. 4. Sprinkle the chips over cereal layer. 5. Sprinkle the coconut over chips. 6. Sprinkle the nuts over coconut. 7. Pour condensed milk over the layers. 8. Bake for 25 minutes at 325 degrees.

Alpha Omega The Weaver Curriculum Review

My good friend over at Hearts4Home did an excellent review of Weaver Volume 1. Since we are considering giving it a try, I thought I would share her very comprehensive review:

It just isn't possible to sum up The Weaver in a paragraph. So I suggest that
you grab a cup of tea or some chocolate and put your feet up for a few minutes
while I tell you our experience thus far! We've not been using it that long, but
I have to share what a blessing it has been for our family!

When I first
started homeschooling my preschooler in 2004, I was drawn to the idea of a Unit
Study approach. I loved the idea that I could teach both kids on the same topic
but at their own level. I looked over some types of Unit Studies and just didn't
feel like God was opening the door for me to use any of them. Either it was
clearly not for our family, or it was so overwhelming to me that I couldn't
picture how to make it work. I tried various styles of learning, and all of them
were wonderful in their own way. But something still seemed to be missing and my
longing for unit studies didn't go away.

Unit studies have a base that
all other subjects are centered around. For example, many are history based. As
the student learns a new part of history, all the other school subjects deal
with the same topic. Some are based on science. But still, none of them stood
out.

Now, if you have read my article My Foundation for Homeschooling
you will understand where I was coming from. I didn't want to just have 'Bible
time' as part of our day. I wanted every part of our education to point our eyes
to our Creator. And, it is sad to say, sometimes Bible time would get left out
of our day because we ran out of time.

No matter how good my boys are
(and I do think they are pretty good kids), they had many days where apathy was
the attitude toward their school work. I know that we had the curriculum we had
because I prayed and felt so certain in what I bought. And I still feel certain,
I believe God had us where He wanted us, using what we were supposed to use.

In the late fall of 2010, I once again found myself asking the Lord if
there was something else I had missed. I truly don't recall where The Weaver
first popped up. But it was online somewhere. One reference lead to another. I
was getting very curious and excited!

I wasn't looking to change things
THIS year. I was thinking ahead to next year. But along came a sweet woman who
happened to have an extra set of Weaver volume 1. I didn't expect to see it come
so soon, but the mail moved FAST and it was at my home in a matter of a few
days. I tore open the box and started to devour the information inside! It was
as if this was written just for us!

What is it that makes me love it so?
First, this curriculum is based in Scripture. So let's say that today we read
about the Tower of Babylon. We'll then start learning about architecture. Then
we'll build some sugar cube buildings. You can see how that little project
turned out on my article
http://hearts4home.blogspot.com/2011/01/new-year-goals-weight-lifting.html New
Year Goals. With that in mind, you will never run out of time for Bible, because
it all STARTS in the Bible! You can't do any other school work without opening
in the Word

To read the rest visit HERE....

Carnivorous Plants Lesson Plans and Resources

Uncle Lonnie always buys the best presents; that is, according to my girls. This time we were surprised with a package that contained a Carnivorous Plant Growing Kit. The girls are more than excited about this! Yesterday we planted the seeds and now have it outside germinating. It takes a while to grow the plants, but I can't wait to not have to hang fly traps in the kitchen.

Here are some resources to help your schooler learn all about carnivorous plants. Be aware that some of these sights may use some evolutionary language:

Glistening Carnivores: Plants That Eat Bugs

What is a Carnivorous Plant?

Types of Carnivorous Plants

Types of Carnivorous Plants with Some Great Pictures

National Geographic Kids on Carnivorous Plants

Venus Fly Trap in Action (youtube)

Upper Level Worksheets

Enjoy!

Meeting Meteorologist Dan Henry

This is one of the things I enjoy most about homeschooling. I have been blessed to be able to set up several really fun activities for our group, but so far this one has been my favorite! Today we had an enrichment class with Fox 4's local Meteorologist Dan Henry!! Ok, so I'm not sure if he counts as a celebrity, but I am telling you that I was star struck enough to be very giddy over getting to meet him!



Dan told us all about how he predicts the weather to what to do if you are caught in severe weather. He even took some questions (and we now know that miss O knows that 3+3=6!). The kids had so much fun, as did the adults and I have listened to the girls talk about the weather all day! Brianna has even requested watching the news so that she can see Dan on TV. I think she is a bit "star struck" Hehe. She has no idea what she is talking about, or maybe she does, but she needs to know if there are any upper level lows coming to Texas!

Even Luke had some questions!

Be sure to check out my post about weather unit studies. There are alot of great resources there, including some freebies! And of course watch Dan Henry on Fox 4 News!

Great Deal on National Geographic Kids!

Plum District is having a great sale on National Geographic Kids! Get your subscription for just $12!! This nearly a 50% savings! Plus if you are new to Plum District you will get a $5 off your first purchase making this deal even sweeter!

I made a mistake! If you are a first time plum district buyer and would like to get the $5 discount I have to send you an email invite. If you would like the email invite please send me a message at molder.anna@gmail.com or post your email address in the comments box! I am so sorry for the confusion but still want to offer you the chance to get the discount!