What are YOU using for Science this Year? *Science 2018 Edition*

That is a great question!  First of all we have tried several different programs - K12 Science, Apologia, and Bookshark.  I wanted to tell you, briefly, about each of the ones we've tried and why we aren't using them this fall...

1.)  K12 Science:  We used K12 for about 5 years and although I loved the curriculum for the most part, I absolutely ended up hating the public school at home.  It wasn't what I wanted for our homeschool, and wasn't what I had envisioned when we started this journey.  Now, of course, you can buy the courses individually, but it is extremely expensive to do so.  So, we have moved on from K12.

2.) Apologia:  This was the very first curriculum we used when we started putting together our own curriculum.  That year we used Botany for my older daughter and Zoology 2: Marine Biology for my oldest son.  It went really well, and they seemed to enjoy their studies.  One thing we really did enjoy was that Apologia talks about creation, but what we didn't enjoy was the young earth philosophy.  Plus doing one whole subject for an entire year was tiresome to everyone.  

3.)  Bookshark:  The next year we tried Bookshark.  We were drawn to this program because of all the beautiful books!  Plus, it just seemed like a good fit - unlike Apologia which had only one subject per year, this program had many subjects to cover.... many, many, many, many, subjects to cover.  This program went in the complete opposite direction of Apologia and just seemed to jump everywhere.  You hardly were on a topic for more than a couple of days; plus, it didn't fit well with our block scheduling.  We got further and further behind, and more and more frustrated.

Last year we went back to Apologia... because, although it wasn't the perfect fit... it was better then Bookshark.  Again, the same issues we didn't like the first time around, came back the second time around.  SIGH.  What did we want?  What did I want?  I wanted a program that gave us an introduction to a topic, and then we could add in more living books, and more activities and more research.  I wanted a curriculum where we could spend as much time on a subject as we wanted to, and move on when we wanted to.  I wanted a curriculum where we could set the schedule in anyway.  Why couldn't I find a curriculum that did this?  Was it really that hard?  Would I have to create my own curriculum?   ...

ENTER:  The Good and the Beautiful Science Curriculum:

(First unit we are learning about:  Arthropods)

(I also bought Nature Notebooks for the kids to use every Friday.  These are from The Good and the Beautiful as well.)

I decided to buy just one science packet and see how it went.  We went with Arthropods.  So far it has been really really fun.  We started at the beginning of summer, so we haven't gotten very far.  We did the first two lessons as a family, then skipped to the lesson on spiders, and now that we are finishing up our spiders unit, we'll go back to lesson 3.  So far, I am impressed!

What we love:

*Family Style curriculum!

*Open and go with easy to collect supplies!

*Beautiful pictures!

*Creation based!

*No theories involved - THANK YOU and FINALLY!

*Quick introduction for each lesson - leaving plenty of time for lots of living books!

*Lots of topic to choose from in any order you want for your school year!

(Books we added in for our spider unit:  notice we did use Apologia - but only for the older children, and only the part about spiders.)

To wrap it up, my younger students:  ages 4, 7, 9, and 11 will be working together on science projects using The Good and The Beautiful, and then we'll add in activities and books to go along with it.  My oldest, 13, will have the option of sitting in.  For now we are going to finish up Arthropods, and then go into the Weather unit, followed by the Water unit that they offer.

For my oldest son, who going into 8th grade, we wanted to supply a little more for him since this is his last year before he starts high school next year: 

 (Apologia:  Chemistry and Physics.  Chemically Active.  Forensic Science.)

With my son's input, we went with Apologia:  Chemistry and Physics - (I did go back to Apologia for this subject, because this will cover lots of topics:  light, sound, magnets, etc etc.)  I have a Chemically Active book that he used briefly with Bookshark - that he may want to use to explore more experiments.  He also wanted to learn about Forensic Science - and we'll be using an Usborne book for that topic.  

(Chemistry and Physics supply kit.)

Side note:  Always get the supply kit for your science curriculum if one is available!  It makes life so easy - Apologia is especially great when it comes to supply kits - they label each lesson - so you just have to grab it and go.  Everything is ready.  The best deal I found this year for supply kits was on Rainbow Resources.  This is the kit for the Chemistry and Physics book. 

(Robotics and projects)

The last topic he wanted to cover was robotics.  So, we have a neat book called Robotics that has several projects that he can complete.  I also love these DK Find Out! books, and thought it would be a nice supplement for him.

Each child also brainstormed with me on other topics that they wanted to learn about for science during the year and this is what they came up with for independent, self-directed learning:

(My oldest daughter wants to learn more about Planet Earth and Space.)

(My middle son wants to learn more about the human body, microscopes, the ocean and bacteria.)

(My youngest son wants to continue learning about animals.)

(My youngest daughter in starting "preschool" this year and although we don't have a preschool curriculum we use, she is interested in learning - so I found a neat First Illustrated Science Dictionary to use, as well as these really fun sticker encyclopedia's.  It gives you a fun story to read, while your child adds stickers.) 

So, there you have it!  The answer to the question: What we you using for science this year?  Up next:   What are you using for HISTORY this year?  Until next time:  have a Hats and Chickadees day!  

What Are You Using for the New Homeschooling Year?

Good Morning, everyone! 
...
I have a confession to make.  Here I am on the eve of my 9th year of homeschooling and I still have no idea what I am doing.  9 years of doing this thing.  My son, is going in the 8th grade this year and I've been homeschooling him since he was in Kindergarten and I still don't have a clue.... Whew right?  I hope that makes you feel better. 

I am so not like those big name blogs you read that have it all figured out.  Nope, and I probably never will be.  So, if you want all sorts of answers, you probably won't find it here.  What you will find is me trying to find my way in this big, crazy, wonderful thing we call homeschooling.  You'll find understanding and some advice that works for us... at least for a couple of months.  And you'll find all my weird ideas that I just want to share.

Also, I have another confession to make.  I have tried this blogging thing before, and maybe it was because what I was posting wasn't that fun.  Or maybe, I'm just not cool enough to make it in the fashion blogging world  (OK, that is probably completely true.)  And I'm probably not cool enough to make it in the homeschooling blogging world either.  Like I mentioned - I am new and trying to go up against big name bloggers that have hundreds of thousands of followers.   Sigh.  Yeah, most likely not going to happen.  Oh, well, here I am giving it a try, folks. 

So, if you've stuck around long enough to read all that... and you've decided to share this homeschooling journey with me - I say, "WELCOME!"  I hope you have fun on the ride. 

(Here I am - ready to give you advice on all things homeschool.  Be afraid.  Be very afraid.)  

First order of business of the year... new curriculum.  (HIT THE PANIC BUTTON!!)  Do any of you second guess yourself at all?  I sure do.  ALL THE TIME.  It's July 2018.  It's time, people.  Time to figure out what in the world you are going to teach your children in the upcoming school year.  

This is the scary part.  I still don't know what I'm going to do.  Honestly, I'm easily distracted and I see something new and shiny and think... oooh!  That is going to be so much better than what I have planned / am doing.  (It's drives my hubby insane, and isn't very friendly on his pocketbook!  Eep!  Sorry, dear!)

We've tried lots and lots of curricula.  For the first couple of years (5 YEARS!!!) we tried K12.  In fact, I was a huge advocate of K12.  But then it became public school at home and I rebelled.  Really rebelled.  I'll try and share our experience with K12 in a later post, but not today.  Next, we tried piecing together our own curriculum.  I collected Story of the World, Apologia Science, K12 Phonics and Literature, etc.  While it went well, I still felt like something was missing. 

Then I stumbled upon BookShark.  BookShark was like a reader's dream.  My dream!  Tons and tons and tons and tons and tons of books?  (Did I mention, ton's of books?)  Yes, ton's of books!  It was like heaven!  Right?  Wrong!  We barely got through 1/2 of the books during the year.  History became just books.  I was supposed to read 4 different read-alouds since my kids were in 4 different levels?  Forget about it!  HISTORY ALONE was taking up 2 to 3 hours everyday.  Science was pretty much non-existent.  Plus, they have lessons scheduled every single day for every single subject.  That was something that we just couldn't do and we found ourselves falling further and further behind.  Plus, I do not like skipping about so frequently during the day.  

After that we even tried a couple months of self-directed learning or unschooling.  And do you know what?  My kids did ok.  But mostly all they wanted to do was play video games.  Talk about video games.  Watch videos about video games.  Yes, it was that bad.  (I really did try to LET THEM DO WHAT THEY WANT WHEN THEY WANT!  For us, that was a bad idea.) 

This year we went back to our original pieced together curriculum.  Again, it has been fine.  Four different kids in four different levels?  It's worked, but it hasn't worked well.  And I don't want "just fine."  I want something better!  

At the end of the year I was introduced to a curriculum called The Good and The Beautiful.  I've really looked into them and I am really hopeful they will be a good fit for us.  I've also looked more into the Charlotte Mason method, self-directed learning, and unit studies.  

So here it is... my tentative plan for the upcoming school year... drum role, please...
I am going to combine several different methods into my very own method.  We'll call it the Sugar Method!  (hehe) 

I want to try and combine the kids together as much as I can.  I am planning on making unit studies of different subjects and studying them more in depth.  I want to use living books as much as possible for that touch of Charlotte Mason.  I also want to try and be done in a good amount of time so that my kids can have time to partake in their own interests. 

My one rule for the year is going to be:  no screen time AT ALL until 7:00 p.m.  Then they can choose to watch a movie, or play a video game.  But with that rule comes another rule... during the day, they can't do anything that has a video game, movie, or TV show at its core.  For instance:  NO, you may not make pictures of all the characters in a TV show.  NO, you may not pretend you are in a video game.  NO, you may not look up how to program your video game.  NOPE, they have to FIND SOMETHING ELSE TO DO!! 

So, that's about it!  1.) Unit Studies 2.) Charlotte Mason 3.) The Good and the Beautiful 4.) with a touch of Self-Directed Learning.  I'm crossing my fingers that I've found the right fit for us!  (Finally?)

I'd go into more depth for each subject, but this blog is getting awfully long, so that'll be a post for another day.  For now, have a beautiful Tuesday, July 10, 2018!  Happy planning and have a Hats and Chickadees day! 

(A Slavery / Civil War Era Unit in the works?  Maybe... stay tuned!) 

As The Waltz Was Ending

I felt like a ballerina is this tulle skirt, so I went with this older book called As the Waltz Was Ending as my inspiration. 

This book was published in 1982.  I read it when I was in the upper elementary years.  I was obsessed with all things WWII - and this book added more drama, with dancing set as a plot point as well.  It wasn't until the very end of the book when I read that this is actually a true story.  Emmy in the story - is Emma Butterworth the author.  This brought on a whole new meaning for me! 

This story is of Emmy, who lives in a world of dance.  That all changes when Vienna is engulfed by war.  Music is gone in exchange for gun shots, and marching feet.  Their is nothing Emmy can do except try and survive, with music helping her escape.

This book does talk about rape at the end of the story.  She doesn't go into great detail about it.  It also discusses murders happening right in front of her.  So, I would recommend this book for older children, ones who really know that horrific things happened in this war.  4**** Stars. 

Outfit details:
Shirt: Old
Skirt: ModCloth
Necklace: ModCloth
Shoes: Newport News

Kalahari

Kalahari by Jessica Khoury - is the third is a loosely related "series" about futuristic experimentation on humans and animals. 

In Kalahari, 5 teens come to the desert for experience in the wild.  Things go wrong when the camp director goes missing after chasing poachers, leaving his daughter, Sarah in charge of keeping them all alive. 

Things go from bad to worse, when they discover a metallic silver lion is stalking them, and is intent on leaving them all dead.  Things couldn't be worse, could they?  Yes, when they realize the silver metallic sheen on the lion is actually a scary deadly virus, that only takes a touch to infect. 

Now they are in a race to find Sarah's dad, and save the Kalahari and the world from a virus that will decimate everyone.  Can they find a cure?

I enjoyed this book, in the fact that nature finds a way to cure things.  It was pretty suspenseful, and a quick, interesting read.  I didn't like the fact that the plot was a little far fetched, and had some weak holes - leaving me with some questions.  All-in-all, I would recommend it.  3.5*. 

My outfit inspiration was an African safari.  I went with orange, and green.  I also added my hat, but didn't know if it was better with or without.  What do you think?

Outfit Details:
Hat:  ModCloth
Blouse:  Hand Me Down
Skirt:  ModCloth (Tiger Lily)
Shoes:  Hand Me Down
Brooch:  Vintage piece from my Grandma

Step to the Music

Step to the Music - is a wonderful book written back in 1953!  I read it for the first time as an 8th grader in middle school. 

The book is a delicious read set during the Civil War.  Abbie, is desperately in love with Douglas.  And she is pretty sure she is going to marry him, too.  That is, until Lorena shows up and charms every man in town, including Douglas.   Not only that, Lorena is from the South, with Southern Sympathies, and slowly sways Douglas to the rebel side. 

Life is not so easily planned, nor as simple as Abbie once thought.  What will happen to her now, and will she ever find love?  4**** stars!

Outfit Details:
I totally felt like a Southern Belle in this outfit, and thought it would match perfectly with a book set during the Civil War.

Dress: ModCloth
Shoes: ModCloth
Belt:  Vintage
Earrings:  Gift
Necklace:  ModCloth

Also, we had fun during our Spring Break doing art every day.  One day we had to paint a picture telling a story.  I decided to do it too.  My story was when we were walking on our lawn one summer night and found a beautiful Milk Snake.  I hate snakes, but this snake was truly beautiful. 

Now, spring break is over, and sadly, we have all gotten extremely sick, so we've been watching movies for 2 days straight.  That is all the news from me today! 

Have a great day!
Xoxo

The Mark of the Dragonfly

The Mark of the Dragonfly, I must say, is one of my favorite recent science fiction / fantasy books.  Piper is all alone in the Scrap Towns on the outer boundaries of the World of Solace.  She makes her living fixing things that no one else can fix.  One day after a meteor shower, she meets a strange girl named Anna.  She bears a tattoo in the shape of a dragonfly on her arm.  That means she is under the king's protection.  If Piper takes her back, she may get a reward.... so begins the intricate and imaginative tale.  I enjoyed it so much, I can't wait until the sequel: The Secrets of Solace, will be released in the Spring of this year!  4*! 

This book is also full machines, and a clock that only works for Piper.  Since clockwork is so important in this story, my outfit features clocks!  I love teal and red together (and it was cold), so I also wore my red jacket.  Both pieces are new - picked up from ModCloth's last 70% off sale!  Shoes match my top, as usual.  I love the details of the dress - from the quirky and fun vintage print, to the beautiful and delicate red buttons.  This was a fun outfit to wear, and I look forward to finding more stylish and comfortable clothes from Effie's Heart.

In other news - we had some new neighbors move in.  Cows, my friends, cows.  Honestly, we love watching them.  They are pretty quiet, and they are pretty sweet animals.  The farmer we live by takes good care of his cattle.  They get to eat all the yummy leftover beat tops from the fall harvest all winter long. 

Also, Sunday was the NCAA selection process for college basketball!  2 games have already been played:  Wichita State and Florida Gulf Coast won their games to make it into the field of 64.  2 more games will take place tomorrow, and will give us the complete field of play.  Thursday the madness will begin!  Yes!  I am a huge college basketball fan!  You didn't expect anything different did you?  I pretty much enjoy all sports! 

I have my map / brackets all printed out.  I am going for the AZ Wildcats - they are my team since the days of Mike Bibby and Miles Simon!  :).  They are only a 6 seed this year, so we'll see what they can do. I am looking forward to the next 3 weeks.  :)

Happy March Madness to you all!  Good night!!!

Outfit details:
Dress:  ModCloth
Jacket:  ModCloth
Necklace:  Lia Sophia
Shoes:  ModCloth
Earrings:  Lisa Sophia

Going Vintage

Going Vintage by Lindsey Leavitt is an amazing and fun story about a girl named Mallory, who suddenly finds herself single after her boyfriend cheats on her.   To deal with what happened, she decides to "Go Vintage.". What does this mean, exactly?  Well, she swears off all modern day technology, and makes a list of things she must accomplish, like:  have a dinner party.  Hilarity ensues with technological complications, her ex's cousin (who just happens to be cute and sweet), and all sorts of other hijinks.  I really recommend this book for a light hearted romantic read.  4.5 stars.  ( Just an FYI - none of the books I read or review will have anything more than kissing.  - So if you are a parent worried about that - this book doesn't cross any of those lines :). ). Thank you! 

I have been a ModCloth lover for a very long time.  Long before they even had a "Style Gallery!". Gasp!  Did you even know that?  So, you could still post pictures. but it was more like a whole other website all together.  People could write about their outfits and other people could even comment on them!  I think, although I am not 100% on this one, you couldn't vote for your "favorite"... Everyone was equal.  I kinda miss it actually ... 

This woman who used to post all the time was my favorite!  She had amazing vintage style.  She always had this theme, and she was always going vintage.  She had 100's of hats as well, and they were the envy of all.  I loved her style of dress!  Well, one day, she posted a picture with the dress you see me wearing now.  She had these gloves, and hat, and throw in a vintage bicycle..  it was an amazing photo shoot!  So, I had to buy the dress immediately.  I don't claim to be as stylish as her - but this dress is still one of my favorites.  I totally feel like I am "Going Vintage" in it.  :)

In other news... my hubby brought home waaaaay too much Boom Chicka Pop Kettle Corn popcorn.  It is my absolute favorite treat ... in the world!  Not so good for my diet though.  :(  Also, he found a brand new wood stove for our house at 1/2 price.  It is gorgeous and has a glass front.  It is so nice to cozy up to it at night and read by fire light.

That's about it for me today!  Talk to you later, and...

Happy Friday to you all!  Have a great night and weekend!! 

Outfit Details:
Dress:  ModCloth
Cardigan:  Charter School Cardigan - ModCloth
Shoes:  ModCloth
Necklace:  Vintage!! From eBay!
Earrings:  Sun drop Earrings
Bracelet:  Lisa Sophia