Expedition Australia E-Book, by Amanda Bennett and The Old Schoolhouse, is a delightful little science toolkit!  I have always wanted to go to Australia, so it was fun and exciting to take a “journey” there, taking my younger four children, ages 3-10, along with me as we learned about geography, Australian animals, boomerangs, and Captain Cook, who also is a big “hero” here in Alaska!  We live right off of Cook Inlet, named for him, so it really brought it all back home for the kids.

As a mom with many children, I really appreciated all of the work that went into finding all of the links for videos and activities on the internet.  All I had to do was click on the link, and institute the activity.

There are activities, book suggestions, on-line videos, discussion questions, recipes and crafts for each day. Honestly though, with all of the content included in this e-book, you have several weeks worth of science and geography you could do!  We spent several hours on it the first day alone! Even my older boys got side-tracked from their work and enjoyed watching the videos.

Comments from my 7yo and 9yo included: “We get to learn about Australia?!” and “This is so fun, thanks Mom!”  My 3 & 5yo love to learn the verses and quotes for each day, which also make great posters for our school room! The kids beg me to do science each day.  I just have to get myself organized so we can jump right into it in the morning!  Thanks for making science and geography easy and fun for all, and at $7.95, it is one of the best deals out there!  I can’t praise the Download N Go series enough and recommend them to my friends!

I WannaBe A Firefighter, in the WannaBe Series by The Old Schoolhouse, is a week long unit study on firefighters.  Laid out more like a textbook style, this unit study seems to be geared for middle school age children. There is a tremendous amount of information included, ranging from pay scales of a fireman, building a robotic arm, handwriting practice, creative writing topics, vocabulary words, and food and activity ideas for a firefighter party!

One of the best features of this e-book is the science activities, which center on robots.  What kid isn’t fascinated by robots?  The authors go into great detail about what is considered a robot and categories of robots, and then focuses on robotic arms, concluding with having you build one out of Styrofoam and craft items!  What a great science fair project that would make!

At only $8.95, this is a fascinating study, especially if you have an older child who is interested in being a firefighter or wonders what that job entails.

Yet another delightful Download-N-Go from Amanda Bennett and The Old Schoolhouse!  This unit study on Davy Crockett is chock full of terrific historical information, United States geography studies, a character study, a government study, patriotism, and even how food preservation works.

I absolutely love the log cabin craft, so simple, yet fun for all of the kids!  They can make their own little town! There is also a craft for making your own compass. The videos are completely enjoyable, especially the full length documentary on Davy.  The whole family crowded around to watch it!  Another of my favorite features is the quotes and excerpts between each day.  This DNG has delightful ones to go with the theme, focusing on patriotic and colonial poems and songs.  They are just right for easy memorization that even the 3yo and 5yo take pleasure in learning.  Each one has a beautiful picture for the background, so I print them out as a 5×7 and laminate them to allow the children to carry them around and memorize them! 

I love these DNG’s.  In the words of Davy Crockett, “Be always sure you are right—then go ahead.”  With these unit studies, I am sure I am right!  The kids love them, and so do I.  Davy Crockett was no exception!

The Download N Go unit studies are a great tool for any homeschooler, whether novice or veteran.  So much work has gone into developing each of the typical school subjects as well as encouraging multi-sensory learning.  The enjoyable recipes that are included are always simple yet delicious to make, and promise to become some of your family’s favorites.  My children love the indoor and outdoor activities and crafts, and the links for further research, book list, vocabulary words, will save you SO much time and effort.

The entertaining video links provided are a welcome change from typical schooling.  We have especially enjoyed learning about how things are made.  Homeschoolers tend to not have a lot of opportunities for field trips, and these links are just the ticket.  From an apple orchard and cider mill to a manufacturing plant, these unit studies provide exciting and educational tours.

Download N Go unit studies can be used to cover one, several, or all of a student’s subjects.  They are also very helpful for studying subjects across grade levels. The unit studies are geared to elementary age students, however the little ones will enjoy them as well as the highschoolers, who will regularly get distracted from their studies to come and participate, as mine have done.

In short, you will be amazed at how easy and gratifying school will become in your household!  What a joy for all of us to LOVE doing our school!  And yes, I said “OUR school” as I have probably learned as much as they have!  I plan on buying one of the packages for use over the rest of the school year!  Enjoy!

Autumn Treasures E-Book is a delightful little science toolkit!  My younger four children, ages 3-9, enjoyed going outside and collecting leaves, twigs, berries and undergrowth for the many projects, including making a fall wreath and doing crayon rubbings.  As a mom with many children, I really appreciated all of the work that went into finding all of the links for videos and activities on the internet.  All I had to do was click on the link, and institute the activity.

There are activities, book suggestions, on-line videos, discussion questions, recipes and crafts for each day. Honestly though, with all of the content included in this e-book, you have several weeks worth of science you could do!  We spent several hours on it the first day alone, learning about the seasons, equinoxes and solstices! Even my older boys got side-tracked from their work and enjoyed watching the videos.

Comments from my 7yo and 9yo included: “This is fun, Mom!” and “Look at my folder, Mom!”  They beg me to do science each day.  I just have to get myself organized so we can jump right into it in the morning!  Thanks for making science easy and fun for all!

Here is a Chickadee that fed at the feeder this morning that Ivan made at Cub Scouts.

This is called a Dark-eyed Junco, and they appear to be nesting at the edge of the woods, right behind this picture. They nest on the ground, and we think we have spotted their nest.  We are going to  keep our eyes on it in hopes of seeing some babies!

Last summer, we had some woodpeckers nest in a tree right at the end of the driveway.  We haven’t seen them yet this year, but are hoping they return.  One thing about woodpeckers, they aren’t too hard to find when they are in the area.  Just listen for the rapping!

The kids and I have been enjoying the spring here in Alaska.  We have identified two different birds today, and can recognize them by their songs.  Above is the White-crowned Sparrow.  I was able to get a great  picture of her sitting way up in a tree at the end of our driveway, singing away.

The other one we identified today is called a Yellow-rumped Warbler.  This picture I just found on the internet.

We will try to post more pictures  of the birds we identify.

Yet another reason to keep our children HOME!  I found this on Dr. Laura’s blog.  I don’t read it very often, but this one caught my eye in my email.  What are these administrators thinking?!?!  Grrrr….I have neices that go to these…hmmm…I better stop writing before I say something I shouldn’t.

Cover-up in Oregon – viewer discretion advised

Here is our entry for the 12 Blogs of Christmas contest through Trivium Academy!  We had so much fun doing this.  I had the kids help me with it.  Please leave us comments to let us know what your favorite parts are!  Thank you!

On the first day of homeschool my mother said to me, "Here are your new pencils."

On the second day of homeschool, my mother said to me, "Where’s your science book, and here are your new pencils."

On the third day of homeschool, my mother said to me, "What are you doing up again, where’s your science book, and here are your new pencils."

On the fourth day of homeschool, my mother said to me, "Where’d the baby’s diapers go, what are you doing up again, where’s your science book, and here are your new pencils."

On the fifth day of homeschool, my father said to me, "OBEY YOUR MOTHER!" Mom said, "Where’d the baby’s diapers go, what are you doing up again, where’s your science book, and here are your new pencils."

On the sixth day of homeschool, my mother said to me, "Practice your piano, Dad said, "OBEY YOUR MOTHER!" Where’d the baby’s diapers go, what are you doing up again, where’s your science book, and here are your new pencils."

On the seventh day of homeschool, my mother said to me, "Give me that Gameboy! Practice your piano, Dad said, "OBEY YOUR MOTHER!" Where’d the baby’s diapers go, what are you doing up again, where’s your science book, and here are your new pencils."

On the eighth day of homeschool, my mother said to me, "Let’s have Bible and History time, give me that Gameboy! Practice your piano, Dad said, "OBEY YOUR MOTHER!" Where’d the baby’s diapers go, what are you doing up again, where’s your science book, and here are your new pencils."

On the ninth day of homeschool, my mother said to me, "Good job finishin’ your math, let’s have Bible and History time, give me that Gameboy! Practice your piano, Dad said, "OBEY YOUR MOTHER!" Where’d the baby’s diapers go, what are you doing up again, where’s your science book, and here are your new pencils."

On the tenth day of homeschool, my mother said to me,"Let’s have a p-j day, good job finishin’ your math, let’s have Bible and History time, give me that Gameboy! Practice your piano, Dad said, "OBEY YOUR MOTHER!" Where’d the baby’s diapers go, what are you doing up again, where’s your science book, and here are your new pencils."

On the eleventh day of homeschool, my mother said to me,"Who is my prep chef, let’s have a p-j day, good job finishin’ your math, let’s have Bible and History time, give me that Gameboy! Practice your piano, Dad said, "OBEY YOUR MOTHER!" Where’d the baby’s diapers go, what are you doing up again, where’s your science book, and here are your new pencils."

On the twelfth day of homeschool, my mother said to me, I’m so proud of you all! Who is my prep chef, let’s have a p-j day, good job finishin’ your math, let’s have Bible and History time, give me that Gameboy! Practice your piano, Dad said, "OBEY YOUR MOTHER!" Where’d the baby’s diapers go, what are you doing up again, where’s your science book, and here are your new pencils."

Well, I had planned on starting math this month, as that seems to be our biggest area of struggle.  I was feeling at a loss of what to do with them, as it seems to take them FOREVER to finish three pages of math.  Dh and I discussed it and we decided that it would be a good idea to practice their times tables every morning, so from now on, here is what our routine will be for math each day:

Three pages in their workbooks

15 minutes on MathBuilder (a computer math program)

Saying the times tables for three numbers twice daily

Saying the number progression for three numbers twice daily

For example, on Monday's, they will do 2's, 3's, and 4's in MathBuilder, do 2×1, 2×2, 2×3, 2×4 etc., and 2, 4, 6, 8 etc.  Each day of the week will have their designated numbers.  Hopefully doing this will cement it in their minds a little better and will help them do their worksheets more quickly.

That's what we are going to try anyway.  I'll let you know how it goes.