homeschooling

Homeschool Curriculum Review: Great Parents Academy

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I knew that our current web-based math subscription was due to expire soon, so when I learned that there was a new one available for review, I looked over it with my kids, and we decided to give it a try. Boy are we glad we did!

GPA LEARN has developed a wonderful math curriculum for elementary age student (grades K-5) called GPALOVEMATH. We’ve had the pleasure of using this program (I received a one-year subscription) for the past seven weeks or so.

Because Seahawk was working through a workbook during this time, this review will focus primarily on Munchkin and his use of the program. I will note, however, that just recently Seahawk has joined the GPA party. [Read more…]

Homeschool Curriculum Review: The Critical Thinking Co.

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Critical thinking

Seahawk is really strong in math. He always has been. So sometimes it’s hard to find things that keep him interested and challenged; the basic grade level math program doesn’t normally do it. So when I heard about The Critical Thinking Co. through the Schoolhouse Review Crew, I started looking at some of their books. When I found out that Pattern Explorer was one of the offerings, I knew that would be just right for Seahawk. He’s always loved searching for patterns, but I’ve never had an easy time finding challenging pattern activities for him (red, green, yellow, red, green, yellow just isn’t difficult for a 5th grader). Pattern Explorer turned out to be just the thing. [Read more…]

Homeschool Curriculum Review: Visual Learning Systems

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I have a super great science program to share with you guys today. It’s called Visual Learning Systems and I received a full year of access to their Digital Science Online: Elementary Edition (Grades K-5) and Digital Science Online: Secondary Edition (Grades 6-12). Obviously, I’m only reviewing the Elementary Edition since my kids are elementary age.

Science is a tough subject for me. I just don’t care that much about it. I took a little more than was required for me to graduate high school, and despite being in the advanced classes and getting good grades there, I just didn’t resonate with science. I was more a math and language arts student. So when it comes to teaching science in the homeschool, I’m afraid my kids aren’t getting that much. For that reason, I’m always excited to review science programs. I know my kids love science, but I just don’t like teaching it, so if I can access a program to teach it for me (at least do the heavy hitting in the subject), I’m all for that. [Read more…]

What We’re Reading in March

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I almost forgot to post about what we’re reading this month. It’s not too late in the month, so we’re still good, though :). Here’s our list.

Read-aloud: Everyone

We’re still working through Leonardo da Vinci Gets a Do-Over. It got put where it doesn’t belong at one point, and I forgot about it for a few days. We’re about halfway through, so hopefully we’ll finish before the month is out. I haven’t decided yet what we’ll read when we finish it. [Read more…]

Our Reading List: February

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What We're Reading in February | Ladybug Daydreams

So. Reading lists. We didn’t do so well last month, I’m afraid. Actually, I suppose that’s not entirely fair. I didn’t do so well. The children did wonderfully. Allow me to elaborate. And explain.

First, our read-aloud didn’t happen. Don’t get me wrong; I tried to read it to the kids. But Elijah of Buxton wasn’t a very good book. (My apologies to Christopher Paul Curtis.) It was one of those books that is written from the point of view of someone with bad English, and so the book itself was riddled with bad grammar and pronunciation (afore instead of before, for example). I just have a hard time respecting books like that. I don’t have a problem with the authors – unless the book is badly written due to incompetence. Just the books. The point behind reading is to help the kids learn to read, write, and express themselves properly, and when authors write bad books on purpose, they don’t accomplish any of those things. So, even for book club, I wasn’t going to endorse that book. And for the record, the kids didn’t go to book club in January, either. I have a rule that if they don’t read the book, they don’t go to book club. Even if it wasn’t their fault this time, we still didn’t send them. (Not all of the parents have this rule. Munchkin says that any given month, only about half or less of the students have read the book.) [Read more…]

Homeschool Mid-Year Update

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School for blog

While we’re not technically halfway through the school year, it seems that the year is most easily broken up into two segments: Before Christmas and After Christmas. Thus, it seemed like a good time to revisit our original schooling plan that I talked about in September and see what we’re still doing that’s working, what we’ve dropped for one reason or another, and what we’ve added in. [Read more…]

A Photo Scavenger Hunt in French

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A Photo Scavenger Hunt in French | Ladybug Daydreams

If you follow me on Instagram (my new favorite social media platform!), you got a sneak peak into today’s post over the weekend.

For Christmas, Will got me all 5 levels of Rosetta Stone French. (This gift came with a new laptop two weeks later since RS only works on Windows 7 or higher; our desktop has XP. I’m loving the new computer [which has 8.1] and the language program!) If you’ve read my blog for very long at all, you’ll know that we’re teaching our children French for their foreign language. You’ll also know that I’ve tried numerous things over the past year in my quest to find something that will work for our family. I’ve explored (and done reviews of) French Essentials on SchoolhouseTeachers.com, Mango Languages, and Middlebury Interactive Languages. While all of these programs had their strengths and weaknesses, none of them were quite right for us in the long term. [Read more…]

Our Reading List – January

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A fresh month means it’s time for a new reading list! Here’s what our family is reading in January.

Read-Aloud – everyone

Image Credit

I forgot to get us to the library to pick up the book club book with enough time for the boys to read it, so we’re reading it aloud. It is Elijah of Buxton, the story of a black boy whose parents were slaves during the American Civil War. They escape to Canada with a large group of other slaves, where Elijah is the first child born free. [Read more…]

SchoolhouseTeachers.com Sale!

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This post contains affiliate links. By clicking through using my link, your purchase will help support this site at no additional cost to you.

Hey guys! I just wanted to put up a note to let you all know that SchoolhouseTeachers.com, the homeschool curriculum site of The Old Schoolhouse magazine, is having a fabulous sale right now.

Here’s how it works: You can sign up for an account and choose to pay either monthly or yearly. The normal price for the monthly membership is $12.95. If you sign up by Christmas (at 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time), you’ll get a 40% discount, making your monthly membership $7.77.

The normal annual rate is $139, which is 10% off of the normal monthly rate. If you sign up for an annual account by the Christmas night deadline, you’ll get a 50% discount, making your fee $64.26.

Now, here’s the best part: If you sign up during this sale, you will be locked in at this discounted rate until you cancel your membership. That’s right: whether you keep it for three days, three months, three years, or more, you will never pay more than the discounted rate. How cool is that?!

In case you’re still not sure if this is a good site for you to invest in, you can read my review from a year ago. Additionally, there’s a whole new crop of Schoolhouse Crew Reviewers doing reviews of the site this week, so you can get an idea of what other homeschool moms think of this valuable resource.

Just click on the above banner to take you to the sale page if you’re interested in buying, or just want more information.

Blessings,

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Our Reading List – December

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December 2014 Reading List - Ladybug Daydreams

Here are in a new month. Can you believe that it’s December already?! A new month means time for a new reading list. Here’s what we’re reading in December.

Read-Aloud – everyone

I found a book called A Newberry Christmas at the library. It’s a collection of 14 short stories by beloved authors including Beverly Cleary and Madeline L’Engle. We’re really excited to dive into this one! [Read more…]