Our Upcoming School Year (2017-2018 Curriculum Choices)

Where did the summer go?? Well, technically, there's still plenty of summer left (which can be verified by the soaring temperatures outside, but even still, our BX, Walmart and Staples all have started their Back-to-School sales, the local schools have put out their supply lists and the start of a new school year (at least for the public schools) is right around the corner.

Granted, we school year round.  It's really way too hot outside during the summer months for the kids to have any sort of fun outside anyway and so we just continue to do our school each day like any other time period.  This means we are able to take a few weeks off more often during the rest of the year and it also means our school year runs from October to October rather than from August to May. So while we still have a few weeks left of our third grade year, 4th grade is in our sights.

So what do we have planned for the kids as they transition from 3rd to 4th?


Math

First up, our math curriculum.  We have been using Math Lessons For A Living Education: Level 3 from MasterBooks and are nearing completion of that book and the kids have enjoyed the format of it well enough.  So why mess with a good thing, right?  In October, we will continue with the series and start Level 4.  We find that the way this curriculum breaks down the sequence of learning as well as provide multiple opportunities to review previously learned skills to be perfect for the kids and the workbook pages are not just pages of straight math problems, which the kids seem to like much better than other curriculum.  I also really like how each chapter uses a story to chose the kids how the skills are used in a real life setting - answering that age old question "When will I ever need this in life".

We prefer the digital download version of this book, as I can print out the work each week for both kids easily (and legally!!) and it takes up no room in our bookcase.  I simply print out each weeks lesson, staple and punch holes in it and put it in their weekly notebook for them to work on each day during our math time.

Science

I gave the kids the opportunity to decide what science course they wanted to take and Anatomy and Physiology won out.  I couldn't think of a better curriculum for this than Apologia's Young Explorers Exploring Creation Anatomy and Physiology.  As you might recall, I got a wonderful deal on these books from Rainbow Resources at the recent Homeschool Convention.  Apologia has some wonderful curriculum and is one of our "go to" sources for sciences.  

I'm extremely impressed with this particular curriculum as it is pretty thorough in it's coverage of the human body, especially for an elementary level course. (My oldest daughter took an Anatomy and Physiology course in High School her Senior year and I find this to be pretty "on par" with her class).

In addition to the labs and notebooking included in the text/journals, I will probably be adding occasional coloring pages from The Anatomy Coloring Book by Wyn Kapit/Lawrence M Elson.

If you are unfamiliar with this particular book, I highly recommend it for any Anatomy&Physiology course, especially at the high school and college levels.  While much of it is going to be too advanced for my 4th graders, there are plenty of diagrams that they will be able to use while learning about the different systems of the body.

History

Some time back, we finished Mystery of History Book 1 and a couple of weeks ago, so now it's time to jump into Book 2.

I absolutely love this particular history curriculum because 1.) it's from a Christian perspective 2.) it provides history lessons more of a "story" format rather than a typical history text and 3.) it includes grade appropriate activities and map work laid out in one book. I also really like that this is a curriculum that can "grow" with this kids.  I don't have to expect them to memorize every little detail as we cover it right now, because in a few years, I will just pull this book back down from the bookshelf, wipe off the dust and repeat the lessons but include activities for middle school students in mind. Then,

it goes back on the shelf and in a few more years, it again gets pulled off the bookshelf and repeated, but with high school level activities.  This means that this book will be used at least three times, each time increasing in difficulty and should result in more retention of information each time.

In addition to the activites and map work included in the book, Garrett will be using one of Skrafty's Minecraft self paced classes that coincide with this particular book.  If you are unfamiliar with Skrafty classes I'll give a brief explanation. Each week, students are able to listen to an audio lesson from one of the teachers that cover the weekly material in addition to reading the pages assigned in their text book and doing the assignment activities.  Then, following the lessons, the students are given a minecraft build assignment, which is completed on the secure Skrafty Minecraft server. Builds include things like making a copy of the Arch of Constantine, the Mayan ruins, or the Tower of Hercules.  At the end of each week, there is also a quiz (which is multiple choice) that is graded.  Since Garrett is more of a "hands on" learner and he absolutely loves Minecraft, this is a great addition for him and he has really enjoyed the Skrafty classes we have done in the past.

Foreign Language

We've tried so many foreign languages in our school and while they kids show some enthusiasm in the first week or two, that quickly wanes and then they start hating it.. We've tried Chinese, French and Spanish, all with very little success. However, that changed when Ashleigh was introduced to Latin.  Her first taste of Latin was when we reviewed Olim..Once Upon a Time in Latin from Laurelwood Books.  She enjoyed it but it wasn't what I would consider a comprehensive curriculum.  Then we reviewed Prima Latina from Memoria Press and that was the perfect fit for her. So why mess up a good thing, right?

Since we've only been using this book for a few weeks, we have plenty of lessons to last until the middle of this year, before we transition to the next level (Latina Christiana), which I will probably have to purchase in January.

Garrett has begun working on Greek (which is a review item coming soon) and has really been enjoying it as well, so I think we've finally found something that works for him in the Foreign Language department.  He is currently using "Hey, Andrew! Teach Me Some Greek!" level 3 and while we've just completed learning the alphabet, he's taken a shine to it and is doing well.  On the plus side, Ashleigh has also been involved with Garrett's lessons and has been learning a bit herself which is great, since Greek and Latin seem to work well together.

Language Arts

This is the area where things are not yet set in stone, so to speak.  Garrett is setup with Language Arts as he will continue using Lighting Literature and Composition (Grade 3).  This has been a good fit for him and he's doing extremely well with it, far better than most reading/language arts curriculum we have tried.  It's hard to find a Language Arts curriculum that Garrett doesn't balk at doing and this one fit the bill.   With a pretty modest price tag, I will probably transition him to Grade 4 of this same curriculum once he's completed this book. 

The problem arises when trying to decide on a curriculum for Ashleigh, as she is well above grade level in Language Arts and Reading. She's currently using Apologia's Readers in Residence and while it does include Grammar lessons, it is more of a reading comprehension curriculum.  I also don't want to purchase a 4th grade curriculum for her and it not be challenging enough for her but I also don't want to move to a 6th grade curriculum and have her miss some important information.  This is my current conundrum.  

My honest hope is that we will be granted the chance to review Monarch Online and begin Ashleigh on the Language Arts curriculum offered there.  Then, depending on how well she does and which grade level seems to be the best fit for her, I will probably purchase the individual grade CD for the class.  Alpha Omega Publishing offers a very generous discount for military families, which I can take advantage of at that time.  So - fingers crossed that we're selected for that review. LOL  Even if not selected, we are taking advantage of the 30 day free trial for Monarch Online, which will give me an idea if their curriculum will work for Ashleigh and if so, what grade level would work best for her and so I can still decide if that's the route we wish to take. 

Those are the major subjects that the two littles will be doing this upcoming year.  There will be more added to the list, for example, reading selections and electives such as physical education, arts and music.  Those are "as we go", however, and no actual set in stone curriculum.  Other subjects like Nature study and Astronomy are an ongoing education in our home and they will continue to be taught.  We will also continue to use Home School in the Woods Make-a-State Activity Pak along with the USA Activity Bundle from TheCraftyClassroom.com (another upcoming review item, btw) to help the kids learn the 50 States. 

Getting Prepared for College

One exciting event for us is that Alyssa will be joining us in our school this year.  As you know, Alyssa graduated from public school in May.  However, because the school only provides the state minimum requirements to graduate, Alyssa's lacking three classes that she needs in order to enter the university that she wants to attend (Lamar University in Beaumont, TX). Because of this, Alyssa will be taking courses with our school so that I can add an additional transcript to her education once she completes those three classes.  Basically, she'll be taking a gap year before going off to college in order to complete those needed required classes.

Since Alyssa needs one additional laboratory science, we will once again be adding an Apologia class

to the mix.  Alyssa will be working through the latest edition of Marine Biology, a college preparatory, high school level course.  This is yet another upcoming review from the Review Crew and we are extremely blessed to have been selected for this review. (Btw, the Crew will begin taking applications for new members probably in October - so if your interested, feel free to message me for information!!).  This book contains text, tests and labs including experiments, dissection and microscope work and once completed, will give her a full high school credit for a laboratory science.  We're fortunate to have a microscope and many of the required slides (and what we do not have, we can access online) and $40 later, the marine life specimens are on their way, although I have no idea where I am going to store a dead dogfish shark lol.  

Once again, we've got our fingers crossed that we will be placed on the Monarch Online review, because if so, this will allow Alyssa to complete her Algebra 2 class and have it taken care of within 6 months.   This would take care of the 2nd class requirement that she needs for Lamar.  (I am still upset with the local high school for NOT offering her an Algebra 2 option and instead forced her to take Consumer Math following Algebra 1 and Geometry- but that's a whole different blog post.. haha).

For the third class, Alyssa and I will have to sit down and make a few decisions. She has two options that will work - 1. she can take the second level Spanish course with Rosetta Stone (which we can get from our base library) and then take the Spanish CLEP test in order to get credit. The other option that she has is to take a Spanish course with our nearby Community College, hopefully as an online course so that she will not have to drive 40 minutes a day for class. If not selected for the Monarch Online review, she will have the same option (Community College) in order to take College Algebra and then transfer both credits over to Lamar University.

What do you think of our choices? Are any of these selections new to you? Have you used any of these yourself?  Let me know in the comments :) 

How to HOMESCHOOL (A Homeschool Crew Review)

A few years ago, my family took a trip to Florida for 8 days at Disney World.  It was an amazing trip, and we had so much fun riding tea cups, meeting princesses and experiencing all things Mickey Mouse. However, Disney World is not a trip you can just hop in the car and go. It requires months of meticulous planning, right down to knowing 6 months in advance what park you want to be at on a certain day, what time you will want to eat dinner and what restaurant you'll want to eat at during that time. Failure to plan ahead of time means that you'll more than likely just eat burgers and chicken strips at each meal as reservations for the restaurants will likely be completely filled. I spent over a year, planning and replanning that trip, making sure all details were set in place in an effort to provide the best family vacation experience possible.

However, when it came to homeschooling, I do not think I put even a fifth of the time and effort into planning as I did that Disney trip. As a result, I made tons of mistakes. Our first two years of homeschooling were filled with tears, frustration and mistakes. I knew no other homeschooling families, so I had nobody to go to for advice.  Those first two years were a major learning experience for me as I pretty much drowned in the unfamiliar waters we were in.  That is why I was really excited to be able to look over and review How to HOMESCHOOL with Stunning Confidence, Contagious Joy, and Amazing Focus (DVD & Coursebook) from Apologia Educational Ministries. By reflecting on my own mistakes, it allowed me to critique if the materials provided would have been helpful to me two years ago, when I was struggling to make heads from tails in my own homeschool.

For this review, we received both the 2 DVD set as well as the 72 page coursebook.  No other materials are needed to complete the course.

About the Product

How to HOMESCHOOL with Stunning Confidence, Contagious Joy, and Amazing Focus is a fifteen part course, that combined video lectures and a 72 page softcover coursebook to help new families who are considering or starting out their homeschool journey to get off on the right track. Combining the expertise of Apologia's Rachael Carman (known for titles such as How to have a HEART for Your Kids and How Many Times Do I have to Tell You) and Teach Them Diligently's founder Leslie Nunnery, the course covers helpful information such as setting up your school,  choosing curriculum, organizing your homeschool day and year, learning to build a strong support system, and how to maintain a healthy marriage during the homeschool years.

Two DVD's include the video clips, each roughly 12 to 15 minutes in length, where Rachael and Leslie sit down together and have a "coffee break" style discussion, meaning that it's very informal, sitting in what appears to be one of the ladies living room as they discuss each topic in a way that makes you feel almost like you're enjoying coffee with them.



What I Thought

We are at the stage now where our homeschool has finally "found it's groove', so to speak.  That's not to say that I don't still make mistakes, but we can typically get through all of our lessons each day without struggles and I've been able to figure out the best way to approach the kids and meet their educational needs.  With that said, I approached this course a bit different than many new families would.  Instead of seeking advice to start homeschooling, I looked at this course more as "Looking back on our school two years ago, would this course have helped me back then".. How valuable is the information provided and would it have helped me avoid many of the pitfalls that I fell into?

First, let's address a few of the major mistakes I made. First, there was the lack of planning. I went into our first year trying to mimic what school was like for me when I was in it.  Of course,this was 20 years ago and things have changed drastically, but not only that, but my recollections as to exactly what I learned in those first few years in an organized educational system was skewed.  When did I learn to actually read, when did I move from learning numbers to learning addition and subtraction - was it in Kindergarten or 1st grade?  Second, I didn't really research curriculum and thought if I just grabbed a textbook for the appropriate grade, that was all I needed.  Our first year was a piecemeal of old public school texts that were no longer used that I had picked up from Amazon - I failed to even consider my kids and they way they learned. Third, I didn't organize anything and our homeschool lacked anything that even began to resemble structure. And finally, I lacked support. I had no friends or family who I knew who had homeschooled - someone to turned to for advice and help when things (quickly) went down hill from the first three mistakes.

With this perspective, I dove into the material. I read through the coursebook and I watched the video segments.  Because our homeschool is already established (and I had already lived through and finally corrected my mistakes), I did not choose to do any of the assignments but I did look over them.

My honest opinion, from what I could now call an experienced homeschooling mom, is that this course packs a punch in a very small package. Each section takes roughly 15 minutes to watch the video as well as a short 3-5 page reading from the coursebook. Following this, each section then also has a short assignment which helps the reader to organize and to plan the next step for their homeschool. Also included are pages in which to take notes for each section, allowing you to organize their thoughts and to allow the reader to reflect back on those notes when difficulties and fears raise their ugly heads. Another highlight is that each coursebook includes a page with a pass code to give those who purchase a program access to resources that a new family starting out with homeschooling will find extremely helpful.

From setting goals for your homeschool journey, learning where to find support when you need it (or even before you do), organizing the many materials and books that are accumulated, and how to build relationships without in your family while homeschooling, there are tons of tips and advice to be learned from those who have also been where you are now.

In my opinion, this is a great course for those who are considering homeschooling, or who have made that decision but have just started out on that journey.  It offers encouragement and advice, all from a Christian perspective. Had this material been available when I first started homeschooling, I can honestly say that many of the mistakes I made could have been avoided.  Listening to Rachael Carman and Leslie Nunnery discuss their own homeschool journeys and the mistakes even they have made and how to avoid doing the same, in a way that made you feel like you were discussing the topics with friends as they offer encouragement and advice, makes you feel as if you're with friends rather than a lecture, allowing a very easy and laid back environment in which to learn and to be reminded that God has a plan for you homeschool and that through him, you and your kids can do some pretty amazing things.

For more information about Apologia's How to HOMESCHOOL with Stunning Confidence, Contagious Joy, and Amazing Focus , be sure to visit their website.  You can also visit them on any of the following social media platforms:

• Facebook:  www.facebook.com/apologiaworld    Tag:   @apologiaworld   
• Twitter:  www.twitter.com/apologiaworld      Tag:   @apologiaworld   
• Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/apologia/            Tag:   @apologia   
• Instagram:  www.instagram.com/apologiaworld            Tag:   @apologiaworld   
• Google+:  https://plus.google.com/105053356034237782125   
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/apologiaworld   

Also, be sure to click the banner below to read other reviews not only for How to HOMESCHOOL with Stunning Confidence, Contagious Joy, and Amazing Focus but also Apologia's Internship for High School Credit. 

Exploring Creation with Astronomy (A Schoolhouse Crew Review)

We are an astronomy family.  Stargazing and learning about what is outside of our own little world in this universe is something that is a major family affair.  I've mentioned before, my living room is a jungle of telescopes and other astrophotography equipment and many of our friends are people that we have met through amateur astrophotography groups.  We had originally bought the 1st Edition of the  Exploring Creation with Astronomy book and notebooks but unfortunately, the notebook had an unfortunate meeting with a cup of red Kool-aid and we were unable to finish our studies with it.   When we were given the opportunity to review the brand new Exploring Creation with Astronomy, 2nd Edition from Apologia Educational Ministries,  I knew our family had to be on it.

For this review, Apologia was extremely generous and provided members of the crew with not only a copy of the 2nd Edition of Exploring Creation with Astronomy but also with copies of the recently updated 2nd Edition Astronomy Notebooking Journal (for students grade 3rd/4th through 6th grade)and the 2nd Edition Astronomy Jr Notebooking Journal (designed for students K-3rd grade, depending on their writing level).  Icing on the cake was the inclusion of the 2nd Edition Exploring Creation with Astronomy Audio CD.

About Apologia  and Exploring Creation with Astronomy

Apologia is a company that almost every homeschooling family has come to know and trust. The number 1 publisher of Creation-based science and Biblical curriculum, Apologia caters to grades K-12.  Their offerings range from their "Exploring Creation" Science series, various Bible and Worldview selections, language art options, High School Geography and Civics curriculum and even planner and devotionals for the homeschool mom.

Revised and updated earlier this year, the Exploring Creation with Astronomy 2nd Edition takes the award winning textbook by Jeannie Fulbright and makes it even better.  Twelve years after the original, Jeannie Fulbright has partnered with NASA engineer Damian Ludwiczak to invite a new generation of students grades K-6th to once again explore the outer reaches of God's creation. Broken down into 14 Lessons, the book explores astronomy starting with the sun and working it's way outward as it goes into great depths about our planets, the Kuiper Belt and dwarf planet and ends with space exploration and whats beyond our own solar system. Included in each lesson are various activities designed to help students understand what they are learning.

Gone with the first generation are the small, low resolution photographs and graphics which have now been replaced with  large eye catching graphics that provide a much better visual explanation than the previous version.  The graphic to the left is a lesson in regards to the tilt of the Earth and how it influences the seasons as seen in both the 1st and 2nd Edition.  While providing the same information, the 2nd Edition's graphics are much more visually appealing.  Also included is now information in regards to advancements made in the last 12 year since the 1st Edition was published. Students can now learn about Curiosity's voyage to Mars, Cassini's mission to Saturn, and Messenger's final images before crashing into Mercury.

The updates Notebooking Journals are also much more visually appealing than the previous edition.

 Rather than a majority of basic black and white pages, the new journals are also in full color with graphics of planets, stars and galaxies throughout.  Both the Notebooking Journal as well as the Jr Notebooking Journal include activities and notebooking pages for all 14 lessons - the only true difference between the two as far as I can see is that the Jr Notebooking Journal substitutes coloring pages for many of the more advanced "What Do You Remember" review pages as well as using primary-rules lines to make copy work and other writing activities more friendly for students who are still developing basic writing skills.

The final component of the newly revised edition is the 2nd Edition Audio CD. Perfect for students who are audio learners as well as those who like to hear narration while following along in their text book, this recording includes the complete text of the book read aloud by the author, Jeannie Fulbright.

How We Used It

For this review, I used the book a bit differently than I would typically use a text book.  Rather than starting from the beginning, we started from the back of the book and jumped into Chapter 14 which was about the Stars, Galaxies and Space Travel.  I opted to start with this chapter because we brought our textbook with us while camping for a week in Yosemite National Park and I thought it would be a great way to bring our learning out of the classroom while giving us a PERFECT opportunity to see the sky without light pollution.  We also brought along our small telescope to do a bit of viewing of the objects we were learning about.  Can you think of a better place to learn about God's creation then in one of the most beautiful National parks in our country?

So as the sun went down, the kids and I would gather around on our picnic bench and we would read aloud from our text book.   It was a full family affair as the together we learned about how to find the Big Dipper in the sky and then to use it to find Polaris, the North Star.  We also talked about the International Space Station and had the wonderful opportunity to see it as it passed overhead.

Chinese CZ-7 Rocket breaking up over Yosemite National Park

However, I will say, the book did not prepare us when we saw a really bright light in the sky.  At first,
we thought it was the ISS once again passing over head but as it grew brighter, we could see it breaking apart in the sky.  We knew it was some sort of "space junk" and discussed how old satillites and rocket parts are pulled back to Earth due to gravity, but wasn't til we left the park a few days later and had cell reception that we found out it was the remains of a Chinese rocket reentering the Earth's atmosphere.

Our space exploration didn't stop once we returned home, however.  Many a nights, we took to our dark front yard and looked up at the sky, looking for various constellations in our night sky.  I don't want to know what my neighbors thought as the entire family would stand outside in our driveway or in the street, looking up at the sky. We are very blessed that living in the Mojave desert, we have fairly dark skies for the kids to observe what we were learning about.  Each night, before bedtime, the kids wanted to head outside and look for what we were talking about in the textbook, whether it was finding the Milky Way, the conjunctions of the planets, or just making sure they could still find Polaris.

One of our many Star Gazing Nights

We also had a great time using the extras found on the website (you will need to purchase the text to gain access to these extras).  Using many of these extras led to some really interesting learning.  Probably most memorable was the kids reactions to learning about the "Space Potty".  We also learned a lot about the special exercise requirements astronauts in space have.

We also used the Notebooking Journals along with our lessons.  Originally, I had planned to allow Garrett to use the Jr version but decided since the differences were slight, Ashleigh would enjoy the coloring pages more than Garrett would. (Garrett hates coloring pages!!) Each notebook includes activities such as crossword puzzles, pages to document results of experiments, lapbooking style "matchbooks" and various copy work pages.  I really enjoyed that the copywork pages included in both journals included both print and cursive pages, as the kids are currently learning to write in cursive. These copywork pages are based on scripture and ties Astronomy in with God's creations.  I highly recommend the notebooking journals to accompany the textbook as the activities are well thought out and really help with reviewing the materials being learned.

We absolutely love Apologia.  It's a company that I know I can trust to provide quality educational material without questionable content that goes against my beliefs as a Christian and with the newly updated Exploring Creation with Astronomy, my husband and I can continue to share our love of the Heavens with our kids.

For more information about Apologia or the newly revised Exploring Creation with Astronomy, be sure to visit their website or any of their various social media sites:

Facebook: https://facebook.com/apologiaworld

Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/apologiaworld @apologiaworld

Pinterest  https://www.pinterest.com/apologia/

Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/apologiaworld/

99 Members of the Review Crew were given the opportunity to also review the Exploring Creation with Astronomy 2nd Edition. Click the banner below to read their reviews. 

Exploring Creation Field Trip Journal (A Schoolhouse Crew Review)

Many homeschooling families are familiar with Apologia Educational Ministries. If you're like me, you probably have many of their books on your bookshelves at this very moment, most likely a book from the very popular "Exploring Creation" science series.  I was given the opportunity to review one of the newest additions to the "Exploring Creation" series - the BRAND NEW Exploring Creation Field Trip Journal.

Bright colors make it very appealing to children

The Exploring Creation Field Trip Journal is a 64 page, spiral bound softcover book to use to document field trips or other various outdoor exploration excursions. The book is about the same size and weight as a typical one subject spiral notebook and is not so bulky that it would not fit neatly in a backpack or carry bag when camping or hiking.   The pages are much thicker then typical notebook paper and are very durable and sturdy.  Each of the pages are printed in full color with vivid color accents to liven it up.  There are also full colored photographs of plants and animals that kids will really enjoy looking at.

 The book is divided up into 9 sections.  Each section has a suggestion page as to how best utilize the pages, however, these are mere suggestions. The beauty of this book is that depending on your child's level, it can be used as a logbook, a scrapbook, a doodle book, ect.  There's really no limitations, it can become what each particular child wants it to be.

 The first few pages give suggestions for preparing for a field trip up to a week prior for both teacher and students.  A whole slew of suggestions for field trip adventures are offered along with themes in which the suggestions would fall under. For example, if you were currently studying botany and plants, suggestions such as national parks, Arboretums, Lumber Mills and Botanical Gardens are mentions. History and Government?  Suggestions include city hall, a history museum or if you have the cash to spend, a trip to Rome.   Each topic has multiple suggestions that would fall into any price range.

Following the field trip suggestions is where the real uniqueness of this book comes in and where the fun begins.  Pages are included where children can keep a logbook of where they have visited, starting with their home state.  The date and destination can be recorded and if you write small enough, maybe a few short notes as a reminder of the visit. Two pages are dedicated to exploration of the their home state, followed by two pages to log travel through the United States, and finally there are two pages to document world travels.

An aerial map of one of our hiking trips

Each field trip is given two pages in which to document the trip. First, there's an area to write down books or other information used to plan for the trip. This is great for if you plan to make a return visit and might need those particular resources again.  There is a place for the time and date of your visit, an area to sketch an aerial view of where you are located as well as placed to write down emergency information like phone numbers or meeting places.  There is plenty of space for writing down information such as what we done on that particular trip, memories you wish to remember and any other notes you wish to keep for posterity.  The lines are all well spaced apart (and designed to look like wide ruled loose leaf paper) so that one does not have to write so small that it is not legible. I have rather large writing and I was easily able to write all of what I felt we needed to include.   There are enough pages to document 10 specific field trips in this section.

Journal pages filled out for one of our trips - Just needs our family photograph

 The next sections, "My Special Spot" and the "As I See It" pages are great for really connecting with the theme of "Exploring Creation". These are pages designed for kids to observe and document as they see fit.

The "My Special Spot" helps kids to pay attention to a specific area over the course of a year and observe seasonal changes to that area. There are pages for Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter. A 4 x 10 square grid is provided for each season for kids to have a reference to work from from season to season, providing a visual reminder of where things were located and to see if they are still there, if they have moved, ect.  There is also a place to attach a photograph for each season as well as document temperature, rainfall, and notes they would like to include.

Finally, the "As I See It" pages provide an area for kids to observe and draw/document nature as they feel best interprets what they are seeing.  Some of these pages are themed, such as a page dedicated to "Predators and Prey", while other pages allow them to draw whatever they would like.. 

This review came to use the same time we stumbled upon Letterboxing and so it only made sense that we would use this book during our adventures.  Our very first letterboxing attempt took us out to Placerita Canyon State Park and the home of the "Oak of the Golden Dreams", which is #168 on the list of California Historical sites.

Before we arrived, we were able to make a very quick sketch in the "aerial map" area to show where we
wanted to go, as well as to jot down the key site seeing items we were hoping to find. After we got home that night, Mom was elected to fill out the pages for the trip, since everyone agreed that I had the most legible handwriting out of our family of 5.   Everyone had a great time that night reliving our hike as everyone told me what they wanted to have written down and remembered. The kids also had to point out a few things that I had not included on our aerial map, like a small man made pond in the butterfly garden.

We really liked how many of the pages are geared to allow the kids to personalize it.  From the very first page where they can put their name into it, to the various pages to allow them to sketch things as they see it, the kids had the opportunity to really feel this was more than a school book and they viewed it more as a fun extension of our trip that they could make their own. 

I think the Exploring Creation Field Trip Journal was a hit with the family and gives us a souvenir of our adventures as we explore nature together.  We have a huge cross country trip coming up at the end of this month and I have no doubt this book will be packed and going with us as we make our way from California to Florida and back. We have spent the last few months planning what wonders we want to see on our drive and this will be perfect in documenting the Grand Canyon, the Alamo and the Gulf of Mexico. Without a doubt, it will be in the car with us on our travels as Ash and Garrett are really looking forward to filling the entire book up with lots of memories.

You can purchase the Exploring Creation Field Trip Journal from the Apologia website. 

Apologia can be found on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Google oPlus.

Real Life Homeschooling - Day 4 - Our Outdoor Classroom

Today is Day 4 of The Schoolhouse Review Crew's "Real Life Homeschooling" bloghop.   I've already showed you some of the "ugly" that is our homeschool, but now I'll show you one of the awesome things we get to do.

Right now, our big project that we are all working on together is our garden. We started studying botany a while back which sparked our interest in starting a garden. We also got a great deal on an Aerogarden which is a small indoor hydroponics system. Using both of these in conjuction with our Apologia text book and notebook, the kids have been working hard every day to help tend the garden by preparing the soil (granted, Dad did most of the hard work), planting seeds, watering the garden twice a day, weeding, ect.    While we're taking care of the plants, hummingbirds buzz over our heads and butterflies and ladybugs flitter all around.  It makes for a really great learning environment.  It's also something that we have all worked on together - the kids have been outside with rakes and hoes along side Mom and Dad so it's not a project that they are just observing - they are completely involved.

The various things we have done, far beyond just the basic planting of bean seeds in a Styrofoam cup, have made it a really unique experience. We've tested the PH of the soil using vinegar and baking soda and then had to figure out how to raise the PH since we had extremely alkaline soil. The kids have had a wonderful time picking out vegetables to grow from seeds that they wanted, which has resulted in a garden currently full of carrots (Garrett's choice), and Brussel Sprouts (Ash's choice), Kohlrabi (Dad's choice) among other things.  We even made our own "hot box" which we have used to start seeds indoors .

The Inside of our hotbox.. Not much left except tomato seedlings.

Another thing we've gotten to do was plan our garden out using the Farmer's Almanac Garden Planner. We were able to use it to figure out how many plants we could put of each type of vegetable in the space we had.  The garden was originally only half of what it is now.

The current layout of our garden, soon to be expanded to include Tomatoes, pumpkins and watermelon

Our classroom extends way beyond a designated room inside a mortar and brick building that is typical public schools.   And we have the added benefit of time on our side - we can do our classwork during the very hot hours and then turn around and work in the garden once it cools off, which is long past the normal public school hours...  We've had fun exploring seed catalogs and learning about growing seasons and learning what mistakes we have made in this first garden so that when we begin planting for the fall crops, we will not make the same mistakes.

Here's what we have so far after 2 months of hard work    We started the garden officially on Feb 15th.

First, a reminder of what we started off with.. very dry, very sandy alkaline soil.

The beautiful green bounty that the kids have worked hard on. We weren't sure we would be able to grow anything being in the desert but so far so good. 

Garrett works on preparing dirt. He wants to plant a huge sunflower here.  In typical Garrett form, he refused to put a shirt on for the picture.. But, this is "Real Life Homeschooling" so.....

Our Garden.. More Green then we're use to seeing.   We've also noticed right close to the fence on the neighbors side has turned green from the extra water we're providing ;)  

Ashleigh's Brussels Sprout..  We ended up transplanting three of the plants today because we couldn't bring it to ourselves to discard three plants.  

Walla Onions with Radish seedlings on the right. We harvested radishes last week and those are the new ones we sowed a few days later.

And here are some of the radishes we grew.. We were all so excited to know we grew these from seeds - and they tasted GREAT to boot :)

Carrot plants.

 Our Aerogarden has been busy and the kids check it daily to see if its needing water or plant food.. We have used fresh herbs from it several times now and have even had to harvest from it and dry out what we cut in order to make room..   The Aerogarden is great for allowing the kids to observe the root systems of the plants and also to allow them to watch the tiny tomatoes start off as flowers and then the progression of the fruit. 

The VERY extensive root system in our Aerogarden.

About time to harvest in order to trim it down again.

Lots and lots of tiny tomatoes

My husband wanted Coleus so I started some for him..

 We are currently working on an experiment to see how plants grown in the Aerogarden compare to those grown in regular dirt.   We started both of our cherry tomato plants at the same time in the Aerogarden.   A few weeks ago, we removed one of the plants and put it in dirt and left the other one in the Aerogarden.    While the Aerogarden plant has definately grown much bigger then the dirt counterpart, both are producing fruit. So once we have tomatoes on them, we will taste one from each plant and see if there's any difference in taste.

This tomato plant enjoys lots of sun and the benefits of being in soil.

We can't forget about BIG tomatoes.. The kids and I started three different heirloom varieties from seeds. Honestly, we did not expect that they would grow but grow they did.. Before we knew it, we had so many seedlings, we knew we would not be able to put all of them in the ground.. We have transplanted the best of the seedings into Terra cotta pots and are letting them get bigger before we thin them out to the best plant out of each pot.. That way, we will have two Purple Cherokee, two Carbons and two Pink Accordion plants to put in the ground.

I leave you with this thought.. All of this is for one class, our Botany science class... My kids are getting a hands on education and are learning skills that one day might come in handy, if they ever have any desire to homestead or if there's some sort of event that makes growing ones own food necessary.     Real Life Skills from Real Life Homeschooling at it's best.

**********************************

I hope you've been enjoying these looks into our homeschooling and what the kids have accomplished. If so, please head over to visit the blogs of these other Review Crew member who are also participating in the "Real Life Homeschooling Blog Hop"

Treasuring Life's Blessings
Double O Farms
Simple Living Mama
Fried Clams and Sweet Tea
This Sweet Life
A Net In Time
Some Call It Natural
Kingdom Academy Homeschool
Debbie's Homeschool Corner
Life at Rossmont
A Stable Beginning
Happy Little Homemaker
Joyful Hearts and Faces
Day by Day in Our World
Mama's Coffee Shop
Delightful Learning
Double O Farms
Tales of a Homeschool Family
Home Sweet Life
A Rup Life

 

Discover real life in other homeschools with the Schoolhouse Review Crew bloggers! Join the blog hop to read more!

Also, if your also into gardening,  click on over to my friend Wren's blog and check out all the wonderful work they are doing in their garden :)