My New Love...

I cannot fully express how much I love my history program!

Before I try, though, let me tell you about my experience with learning history - BORING! When I determined to homeschool my kids, one thing I strived to do was to be as excited about teaching history, grammar, writing, literature, etc as I was about teaching math and science. I didn't want my kids dreading their classes but looking forward to them. I wanted them to hunger for learning, to "leave class" with their appetite wet but not quite satisfied.

Well, my history program does this and more! What am I using you ask?

The weaving of secular and Biblical history to give a truly well-round history is stupendous! I'm beginning to understand history and make connections in ways that I previously found to be confusing. There is no "here is your Bible lesson" and "here is your history lesson". It is all the same. As the student is learning about Moses, they are also mapping Egypt, learning about mummies, getting to know the Pharoahs, seeing who the Egyptian gods were, and understanding why the 10 plagues were so devastating to the Egyptian people. I was absolutely blown away!

For younger students, the use of arts & crafts not only gave them a break from the typical history lessons, but also allowed them to experience an aspect of that culture or time period. This year we've learning wall construction, scultped working oil lamps, painted Egyptian paddle dolls, created salt-dough maps, weaved paper, decorated crowns, etc. Warrior even started whining that preschool was boring after seeing everything Princess was getting to do. Guess who has been sitting in on 2nd grade history? I love it!

One of my husband's favorite aspects of Tapestry of Grace is the Pop Quiz. Basically, it's a CD with a short 15-minute weekly summary of what the child has been learning for dad to listen to, so he can feel involved in school. He doesn't have to ask "so, what did you do in school today?" because he already knows! There are also little quiz cards, which can be used for review with dad, if he wishes to be even more involved in the learning process.
Not only is the Bible/history aspect to this curriculum exciting but it also covers art, literature, geography, and writing. The only subjects you need to add are math and science, so it has also been a budget saver for our family. And speaking of budgets, you only have to buy 4 years worth of curriculum to last you from 1st-12th grade!

Want to try Tapestry of Grace for yourself? They offer a free 3 week mini-unit on their website. This isn't a flimsy sample, either. It is the full lesson plans, maps, activity pages, book lists, lapbook components, writing aids, evaluations, and even the Pop Quiz. If I have it as a user, you will have it in this sample!

I hope you find that after looking over the sample, you love it as much as I do!

Curriculum Review - Bendon Books

Let me preface this by saying that these books were actually meant to be supplement materials, not a full curriculum.

The Bendon Pusblishing activity boks made a wonderful advanced preschool option for us! Plus, since they are available in a variety of characters, the motivation for school is built in. Characters available include:
 - Sesame Street
 - Disney: Princess, Fairies, Little Einsteins, Cars, Tigger and Pooh
 - Mickey Mouse Club
 - Handy Manny
 - Hello Kitty
 - Word World
 - Littlest Pet Shop
 - Marvel Heroes
 - NASCAR
 - Veggietales

This is no where near a complete list of what they have!

The particular book I used was the Disney Princess Alphabet. By the time we got to this book, we had worked our way through 4 Step Ahead books (see previous entry). This is NOT a book you want to start with, as it just jumps right in with the writing of letters on actual lines.

The book actually starts out with blank lined pages. The first thing I did was skip those and came back to them once she learned all the letters. The rest of the pages look a little something like this one.

I had her practice the uppercase and lowercase simultaneously. I know most curriculums and teachers prefer to do them separately starting with lowercase, but I find doing them together helps with letter recognition and lessens confusion when it's time to use the uppercase letters. Plus, I love that each page gives the student a word with that letter they've just practiced. The main thing I loved was that my daughter ask for "Princess School" every morning!

Curriculum Review - Step Ahead

Preschool can be tricky for some to figure out. Few companies provide preschool curriculums, especially those that are appropriate for very young learners.

My daughter was 2 when I started preschool with her. Many preschool activities were too advance for her physical development (i.e. dexterity). My goal for preschool was to help her develop better muscle control for writing while challenging her mentally.

What I found was the Step Ahead series by Little Golden Books. I used the 4 titles in the series that were available at my local ALCO/Duckwalls and was instantly impressed.

I'm Ready for School

This book taught such concepts as left & right, matching, colors, and drawing. The book also taught some basic reading skills by identifying pictures. Much of the book is sticker based and what wasn't, she was able to complete with a crayon.

Before I Do Math and Counting 1 to 10

These two books were great for introducing number concepts and for number identification. They are both set up in a similar presentation style as I'm Ready for School. The first title here teaches comparisons and number identification. The latter title helps with counting and number identification. I also used it to help with some basic writing skills by having her trace the numbers on the sticker pages.

Before I Write

This was probably my favorite book of the bunch! The work starts out with straight mazes about 1" wide getting narrower over the next few pages. It then adds curves and sharp turns before working to staying on a dotted line. A few letters are introduce on the last few pages written two way - maze and dotted line - with space to write on the child's own.

These are what I started my daughter using. It took us a couple of months to get through the four books before moving on to more advance books in this series and other companies' materials. This series though was my absolute favorite and one that I recommend to everyone who asks what to do with their preschoolers who are ready for school.