Our homeschool art group "Little Hands" has been looking at a art program called Atelier. It is a video based program that teaches to the right side of the brain (which is supposed to enourage creativity and increase learning skills).
All the materials are easy access, the instruction is clear, and the video instructor makes it a breeze to teach art even to a non-creative person like myself.
The one draw back that our group had was the cost. There are several different modules that teach varying levels. Each module had price tag of ~$55. This was really too expensive for our little group who basically had no extra means other than for supplies.
But as things are provided, I happened upon a module, BRAND NEW in the shrink wrap, at our co-op registration and used curriculum sale. I managed to snag the Level 3 Module (which is exactly where our kids need to be) for $5.
What a blessing this is going to be to our group and I can't wait to post about our first opportunity to use this great program.
Spending Our Days With Learning, Family, and Fun ~
Monday, December 28, 2009
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Daddy Daughter Date
Our local Chik-Fil-A recently had a "DADDY~ DAUGHTER" Date Night... My DH made arrangements to take DD as a surprise... It was fantastic, she had such a wonderful time... They were met by valet parking (yes, at Chik-Fil-A, I was surprised also)... had a dinner of chicken (of course)... a rose for DH to give to DD and pictures.
He made it even more special by stopping by the Mast General Store and letting her pick some candy out of the barrels...
A wonderful evening and lots of memories she will never forget!
He made it even more special by stopping by the Mast General Store and letting her pick some candy out of the barrels...
A wonderful evening and lots of memories she will never forget!
Monday, November 30, 2009
Kaleidoscope of Missions
Every year our "Children In Action" and "Mission Friends" groups at our church get to attend a mission function sponsored by the Tennessee Women's Missionary Union . This year it was called "Kaleidoscope of Missions" .
It was a wonderful opportunity for children and youth to get to talk to missionaries and hear about how their work in other countries had an impact on lives of children and others like them. They got to see and touch item from other countries that the missionaries had brought back from each of the various lands they were commissioned to.
They played a "Bible Trivia" game set up like Jeopardy, heard lots of different stories about distant lands and what life was like there, listened to songs of praise sung in different languages and just had a great time of learning and fellowship with people who had experienced so much doing the Lord's work.
It was a wonderful opportunity for children and youth to get to talk to missionaries and hear about how their work in other countries had an impact on lives of children and others like them. They got to see and touch item from other countries that the missionaries had brought back from each of the various lands they were commissioned to.
They played a "Bible Trivia" game set up like Jeopardy, heard lots of different stories about distant lands and what life was like there, listened to songs of praise sung in different languages and just had a great time of learning and fellowship with people who had experienced so much doing the Lord's work.
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Sam Houston School
~Sam Houston ~
A great man in history. We took a field trip to the Sam Houston Schoolhouse and learned so much in such a short time. He was a teacher, practicing attorney, 2 term US Congressman from TN, Governor of TN, and then as a Texan he achieved even more ~ helped liberate Texas from Mexican rule, served 3 terms as President of the Republic of Texas, helped annex Texas to the US, and was a US Senator from Texas for 14 yrs. All this was accomplished in a lifespan of 70yrs.
The kids retained so much from this trip that it amazes me. They got to actually have some lessons taught by a "schoolmarm" in period dress and manner in the actual one room schoolhouse where Houston first taught school. Attended displays and watched various craftsmen use a spinning wheel to make various kinds of yarn, flax and silks, make ammunition for rifles of the period, grind corn into meal by hand (very hard work) and take a tour of the on-site museum.
More info about Houston ~ he was a friend to the Native American people, married 3 times and died with the last words on his lips being "Texas, Texas".
You can learn more about this amazing legend in TN and Texas History here
and here.
A great man in history. We took a field trip to the Sam Houston Schoolhouse and learned so much in such a short time. He was a teacher, practicing attorney, 2 term US Congressman from TN, Governor of TN, and then as a Texan he achieved even more ~ helped liberate Texas from Mexican rule, served 3 terms as President of the Republic of Texas, helped annex Texas to the US, and was a US Senator from Texas for 14 yrs. All this was accomplished in a lifespan of 70yrs.
The kids retained so much from this trip that it amazes me. They got to actually have some lessons taught by a "schoolmarm" in period dress and manner in the actual one room schoolhouse where Houston first taught school. Attended displays and watched various craftsmen use a spinning wheel to make various kinds of yarn, flax and silks, make ammunition for rifles of the period, grind corn into meal by hand (very hard work) and take a tour of the on-site museum.
More info about Houston ~ he was a friend to the Native American people, married 3 times and died with the last words on his lips being "Texas, Texas".
You can learn more about this amazing legend in TN and Texas History here
and here.
Sunday, November 8, 2009
A Fungus Among Us...
We recently completed a unit study on Fungus... It was very interesting and informative on my part..
I ordered the e-book "A Fungus Among Us" from TOS and it was great.
Luckily it has been a wet season with lots of mushrooms to study.
We took many nature walks, compared wild mushrooms to those bought in a package from the grocery, dissected various forms of fungi that we found on journeys through the yard and woods, and grew our own mold on bread and other various food items to see if there was a difference in the type according to the type of food used.
We finished our plans with worksheets found across the net and books from the library...
DS looking at the gills of a mushroom.
DD having fun with dissection.
Some great worksheets about mushrooms can be found here, at ENCHANTED LEARNING.
More info can be found here along with great teaching ideas and activities.
Order your own "Mushroom Growing Kit" here.
I ordered the e-book "A Fungus Among Us" from TOS and it was great.
Luckily it has been a wet season with lots of mushrooms to study.
We took many nature walks, compared wild mushrooms to those bought in a package from the grocery, dissected various forms of fungi that we found on journeys through the yard and woods, and grew our own mold on bread and other various food items to see if there was a difference in the type according to the type of food used.
We finished our plans with worksheets found across the net and books from the library...
DS looking at the gills of a mushroom.
DD having fun with dissection.
Some great worksheets about mushrooms can be found here, at ENCHANTED LEARNING.
More info can be found here along with great teaching ideas and activities.
Order your own "Mushroom Growing Kit" here.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Rocky Mount Field Trip...
We had a fabulous field trip to the Rocky Mount Living History Museum...
It is a historical farm dating back to 1769 when William Cobb arrived to settle his land grant. The home dates back to 1791 and is full of wonderful antiques and artifacts of the era, as well as, characters in role... George Washington was President and the kids witnessed in first person interpretation the daily lifestyles, domestic and work skills, food, clothing, furnishings and games enjoyed by people of that time...
All the kids took several classes: Stenciling, 18th Century games, candle dipping, paper marblizing, and pewter casting... It was a great learning adventure and we are looking forward to going back at Christmas time..
Wonderworks...
In Pigeon Forge, Tn, there is a unique museum called Wonderworks... It is a children's paradise for hands-on learning...For the past few years, they have offered a free admission to homeschool families in the area (with your teacher ID from an umbrella school)...
It is a great opportunity and we try and take advantage of it every year.. They have an inversion tunnel which puts me in a "semi-euphoric" state trying to walk through it... An illusion gallery, a space area, climbing wall, a great wind tunnel, an "Earthquake Cafe" with lots of shaking going on... and an area for light and sound...
It is always a really a cool experience and we had a great time again this year!!
Belt Promotion...
Recently my son advanced into another class at Karate and began taking Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu... It is very different from the martial arts he has been taking... This is more on the floor action and grappling...
He takes this at Real World Martial Arts, which is one of only 4 schools in Tennessee to be approved for the Pedro Sauer Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Association. So we are very fortunate to have this school so close to us...
DS's belt advancement test was done recently... Here are some more photos from that night..
Monday, September 21, 2009
Jiu Jitsu..
DS recently had his testing for belt advancement in Jiu-Jitsu... He is taking classes in the Gracie Jiu-Jitsu method... He has only been taking this form of martial arts for about 4 months... Prior to this he was taking karate, but when he advanced to the older age group, he entered the Jiu-Jitsu class...
He did really well... The class grappled among the weight classes and I was nervous watching, because to me, it looked like he was being man-handled... But he now has advanced to a "gold" belt and won a bronze metal for points in grappling!! I was so proud!!!
You can learn more about the Gracie Jiu-Jitsu method here: http://www.gracie.com/
He did really well... The class grappled among the weight classes and I was nervous watching, because to me, it looked like he was being man-handled... But he now has advanced to a "gold" belt and won a bronze metal for points in grappling!! I was so proud!!!
You can learn more about the Gracie Jiu-Jitsu method here: http://www.gracie.com/
Monday, August 31, 2009
Adventure Science Center, Nashville, TN
This summer we went to the Adventure Science Center in Nashville, Tn... We loved it!!! There was so much to do there... The exhibits were great and they have a homeschool day too...
The have a wing dedicated to space called "Space Chase" where you can have the chance to undergo simulated astronaut training, tour the Solar System, experience a moonwalk or find out what you weigh on another planet.
The Human Body wing is called "BodyQuest" and presents a day in the life of your body. You get to see what goes on inside you every day, how your body systems work together and how hard your body works to try to keep itself in good working order...
There is the BlueMax which is a virutal flight simulator that offers a three minute flight for two people.. It is presented by Middle Tennessee State University and MTSU Aerospace. BlueMax allows the "pilot" to control every thing..Including all the loops, spins, and dives associated with flight...
In the Adventure Tower, you find an area filled with amazing activities, it's more than 75 feet tall with seven levels and an observation area that looks out over the whole city. You can hoist a car off the ground without effort and actually see what the hunan epidermis is like on a larger-than-life wall of skin...
Plus for an extra admission price, you can watch visit the Planetarium and view the show... This planetarium is one of only 7 in the world and the only one outside of Japan...
And if you present you Teacher ID, you can get a discount on admission!!!
Exploring Nature...
This summer we took some Junior Ranger classes with some homeschool friends...The Junior Ranger programs are wonderful and are offered/available in most State and National Parks...You can find out more about the program here..
You can also find free curriculum, fun and games, and a guide to park Junior Ranger programs and a host of other fun and educational media created by the National Park Service here...
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Great Giveaway!!
Nikki at the "Painters 5 " has a great giveaway for the Homeschool Creations Curriculum Clean-Out... She is offering AOP LifePac Science Grade 3 Teacher Guide and Set of 10 LIFEPACs...
All you have to do is leave a comment, blog about it, or subscribe to her blog feed!! So, you get 3 chances at this awesome giveaway!!
GOOD LUCK!!
The 2009 Perseid Meteor Shower...
Tuesday night I set the alarm clock to go off at 2am which was the beginning of the peak time to see the meteor shower that I had been waiting for days to show the kids...Well, mother nature didn't cooperate with us and it was cloudy and proceeded to thunder-storm...
But being persistent, we set out to see what we could last night...
(wish our view could have looked like this one)
(but it looked more like this...)
And WE DID IT!!! I now have 2 kidlets that are thrilled about seeing the meteors and looking forward to getting up this morning and learning more about them...
Even though it was not the "prime" viewing time the astronomers had suggested, it was still beautiful and a reminder of God's awesome power and greatness... They were beautiful, some were fast and fleeting and some were large and slow and seemed to glow forever...
Here are some resources that I have found this morning while researching for lesson plans/ideas to use today with the kidlets....
Astronomy for Kids this is one of my favorite sites (use it all the time)
These are some books that I checked out from the library hoping to get to use them!! (had my fingers crossed 
and then this is a great book "I can be an Astronomer" by Paul Sipiera...
Hope you got to enjoy the beautiful show from heaven as we did!!
Have a great day and keep your eyes to the stars!!!
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