Do you really believe that what you believe is really real?????

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Oh, I'm excited about our church's new Sunday evening classes!  This time around, I'll be participating in Focus on the Family's The Truth Project!!

Most of the believers of today live pretty much like non-believers: not having a biblical worldview.  This small group study is designed to help Christians start to look at daily life through Biblical lenses.  I can't wait to start reinforcing this in my own life! 

I've come a long way in my thinking....

but I'm sure I've got a lot yet to learn...

do I really believe that what I believe is really real???? 

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Invisible Illness Week: Sept. 14-20, 2009

Many are shocked when they learn that I have a chronic illness...three of them actually.   I don't particularly look ill.  That's where the phrase "invisible illness" comes in.  Each year in September, for Invisible Illness Week, bloggers everywhere are posting about their life with an invisible illness--a chronic condition that affects their life every day. 

If you think you don't know anyone with a chronic illness, think again.  Almost 1 in 2 Americans live with a chronic condition--it just may not be one you can obviously see!

I have Dermatomyositis, an autoimmune disease that affects the muscles and the skin.   At various times, I've had sore or weak muscles all over and painful rashes on my face.  I cannot be out in the sun much, as that will lead to a flare in the illness.  So, I've learned to wear sunscreen almost daily and to wear a hat when I know I'm going to be in the sun a lot.    I'm hoping that we'll be able to get disease under control and I can stop taking the nasty medications for it.  One night each week, I take 6-8 pills and then try and fall asleep before the nausea hits.   The following day, I'm generally tired.  The second day after taking them, I generally get a headache.  (Hey, at least it's predictable!)

I also have Interstitial Lung Disease, another autoimmune disease that makes my lungs weak and susceptible.  At the moment this is under control (in remission) and I'm taking no medications for it.

And I also have Raynaud's Phenomenon, which seems to go along with autoimmune problems.  My body doesn't always regulate temperature very well.  My hands and feet have poor circulation particularly, and my toes have begun to get numb places due the damage to the nerves.

So as bad all that sounds, I'm doing really well!! \o/  God is so good!!!  He is faithful and merciful.  I've come a long way since first being diagnosed (see my post for last year's Invisible Illness Week). 

While I wake up stiff and sore each morning, I'm able to walk around and do normal things without breathing difficulties.  I'm able to lift and carry most things.  I can hug and laugh and love on my family.  I can teach and we can go on field trips.  I am able to live each day!  I now find joy in even the smallest things.....a hug, a sunrise/sunset, a rainbow, a butterfly, etc.  I no longer take things for granted, especially such things as health and the ability to walk and breathe.   I can do all this because of my God.....He is my strength, my resting place. 



(If you want to read more about my story, see the post I did last year for Invisible Illness Week.)


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Download free encouragement for your new school year!

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The Old Schoolhouse magazine has put together a compilation of encouraging words and advice from seasoned pros like Steve & Jane Lambert of Five in a Row, Amanda Bennett of UnitStudy.com, Malia Russell of Homemaking 911, Terri Johnson of Knowledge Quest/Bramley Books, Ruth Beechick, and more.

Their topics include:  cooperating with the Holy Spirit, managing a multi-level homeschool, organizing, and more.

Kick your school year off right......click below to read more and to download your free copy of The New School Year:  Planning Your Course and Letting the Lord Determine Your Steps.

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Using Forunately for You's Pockets and Tags of Time in workboxes

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Since we're doing workboxes (see older posts) this year, I've been looking for some items that can be put in them for the girls to do independently.

I had downloaded some of the freebies from Fortunately for You some time ago, but had not used any to date or even particularly looked them over.  (You know how it goes, download it because it's free and you might need it someday, save it on the hard drive somewhere, and forget about it. )  As I was going through my computer files recently, I found those freebies and took a closer look and got the idea that their Tags of Time or their Pockets of Time could be a great workbox items. 

After determining the difference between ToT and PoT, I decided to purchase a few of each.  I decided to use ToT with my younger daughter, who is not particuarly  creative, and I would use the PoT with my older daughter, who is my artist. 

Both products test the child's comprehension of a story.  For each chapter, there are summarizing sentences about the chapter for the child to put in order to show the flow of the events in the story.  

PoT involve the child coloring a rectanglular tag with the sentence on it a particular color, cutting them out, and then, as they read the chapter, placing them in order and putting them the chapter's pocket, which is created by attaching two pieces of cardstock together to create up to 3 chapter pockets on a page.  (An answer key for mom is provided and lists the order the colors should be in.)   When completed, the child can make a cover for the pocket pages, punch, and secure with yarn/ribbon and make a book. 

The ToT involve a child decorating a tag as desired.  The child places colored strips which contain the sentence in order on the tag.  (Fortunately for You thoughtfully include non-color strips that you can print if you don't have a color printer or if your color ink is low!  Then you must tell the child what color to color each strip.)  The child must also include the chapter number, the chapter title, and a small graphic that represents the chapter.  (Again, an answer key is provided telling Mom the color order and which graphic matches each chapter.)   The ToT allow the child more creativity in the placement of the items and how the tag is to be decorated.  Once all of the chapters for a book are completed, the tags can be secured with yarn/ribbon.

In both cases, the child can also use the tags to retell the story.

This works for my younger daughter because she doesn't have to go through the effort of writing (a laborious chore for her).  It will work for my older daughter, giving her an outlet to be her creative, artistic self.

My youngest will finish her first PoT today, The Courage of Sarah Noble.  Next week, my older will find The Sign of the Beaver in her workbox and will complete her first ToT.

  Works for us!

ETA:  To use these in the workbox, each day I would just place the book to read and the print outs of the rectangular tags for 3 chapters at a time.  Then doing one chapter at a time, DD9 would color the tag according to the instructions, making sure to read the sentences as she did so to familiarize herself with what to look for in the story.  Then she cut them out (just one chapter at a time), again reading the sentences.  I also had her write the chapter number on the back.  Then she read that chapter of the book.  As she read, she'd arrange the cards in order.  After she read the chapter, she paper clipped the cards and gave them to me for grading.  Once I verified they were in the correct order, they were placed in their pocket.

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Am I addicted to books or just paper?????

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I've long admitted to being addicted to books.   Even back in school, I was the local book nut, the one kids went to to determine which book on the approved book list was good and, "oh yeah....can I borrow it from you?"  I had a lot of books then, and I still do.....and homeschooling doesn't help that addiction.

I have thousands of books.  Every room in the house has bookshelves and yet I still have piles of books awaiting a spot on some shelf somewhere!

Tonight I decided to put away the school supplies I had recently purchased from Wally World (that at the time I just threw in the school room).  

Gee willikers, why must I buy school supplies each year when they come on sale?  I know I have a bunch in the supply closet, yet I buy more....just in case.

I have almost 30 packs of paper (the 150 count kind) and about that many 1 subject notebooks as well.  And there's a half dozen or so 3 subject notebooks.  And a couple packs of construction paper.  And a large pack of cardstock.  And index cards.   And none of that includes the paper we keep near the printer(s).....pastel, neon, Christmas, more cardstock....

And people wonder why I don't scrapbook!!      Where would I put all that paper???

And my desk....well, the above picture says it all. 


......maybe I don't have a book fetish after all.....maybe it's just an addiction to paper in general?????

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We're back to school!

The summer went all too fast, but it's time to get back to work now.

This year, dd11 is in 6th and dd9 is in 4th.

Our school year started with our Back-to-School Prayer service that our church has each year.  When we broke down into groups, for specific prayers, I was asked to pray for our homeschoolers, which I cheerfully excepted of course!

Then, come Monday, August 17, our school days began. The first week, we eased into the year, not doing full days or all of the curriculum.

I got our workboxes in place (see older post about Sue Patrick's Workbox System) and the girls are enjoying them.  We are getting more done, but sometimes I feel it's busy work because most of the "extra"things I have done so far have been worksheets with puzzles and other activities.  However, they seem to enjoy the breaking up of the day with these items and I know we're getting some extra learning in.   When I get my act together, I'm going to add in lapbooking components to the boxes.


Curriculum the kids are using:

DD11

• Saxon Math 76 (she'll start this next week, she just finished up Develomental Math book 15 and so we're moving on)


• LightHome Publication's Westward Ho Wagon Train writing (A themed ABC unit study type writing program.)


• A Beka Grammar & Comp I  (She hates this and wants to go back to Daily Grams, so we'll see if we stick to it.)


• A Beka History


• Building Thinking Skills, Book 2


• Unit Studies

DD9

• Teaching Textbooks 4 (she'll finish this in a couple months and then she'll move on to Saxon 54)


• Daily Grams 4


• A Beka History (she asked for a history book like DD11's, so I got it)


• LightHome Publication's Crawly Critters Cursive (intro to cursive)


• Unit Studies (currently she's enjoying a BJUP BookLinks study of The Case of the Dognapped Cat by Milly Howard)


• Maybe some Spanish, since she's asked for it.

Both

• Character Sketches  (Bible and Science)


• Ohio Dailies (short lessons for Ohio history)


• Homeschool in the Woods' Time Traveler items as they fit in with our American history studies


• Grammar Punk


• Math-It for math fact practice


• A Beka Science at our local co-op


• Real Science4Kids Physics at our local co-op


• Gym class at our local co-op


• Drama at our local co-op


• Sewing at our local co-op

Plus all the extras that get put in their workboxes.

Another busy year!
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Curriculum Review: Grammar Punk

Tell me...who gets excited about Grammar?  Not too many, I think.  But I'm excited about a program I found quite by accident that has intrigued me enough to plan on using it next year in our own homeschooling and to commit to teaching a class at our co-op using it AND I purchased two levels so I will be able to use it through high school!

It was not until after I received my order that I learned that the CEO was homeschooled for part of his education.  He's now a high school English teacher.

The name of the program is Grammar Punk.  Click here for their website. 

I've only heard of one other person using it and others were asking about it, so I thought I'd write up a bit of a review.

I ordered the Grade 4-9 and the Grades 9-12 homeschool sets, as well as the StoryCards. 

I should say here that the two main differences between the "homeschool" set and the regular set that is advertised on the website are:  1)  Cost and 2)  the homeschool set does not included printed materials.  Everything that's printed in the regular set is contained on the CDs for the homeschooling family to print out.  Oh, a third difference.....the homeschool set does not include the StoryCards but they can be ordered separately, which I did.


So, let's get on with the review. 

I'll begin with WHAT'S IN THE BOX.  

Inside the box was an acrylic storage case (which I didn't know I was going to get) to hold the curriculum set.  

Inside the case were the 6 specialized dice that are at the heart of this unique program.  5 of the dice are a bit larger than your average playing dice.  The last one, the 20 sided one, is average.

Also in the box was a multi-disc CD holder, which houses the Homeschool Family Pack, 4-9 and 9-12.  I received 4 discs.  There is one tutorial disc and one curriculum disc for each level.  My 4-9 discs were actually labelled K-9.  However, upon checking the disks, the files are labeled as 4-9.  When I first looked through the CDs, I thought I was missing the bonus CD that they are featuring for free at the moment, the Homework disc, however it was included as a file on the curriculum CD.

On the one 4-9 disc are files for:  the 4-9 Primer (a 15 page booklet for the student that lists grammar rules), the 4-9 Curriculum (164 pages), and the Homework (11 pages).  The second disk is the PowerPoint slides Tutorial.

On the one 9-12 disc are files for:  the 9-12 Primer (a 10 page booklet for the student that lists grammar rules), the 9-12 Curriculum (175 pages), and the Homework (11 pages).  The second disk is the PowerPoint slides Tutorial.

Also in the box were the StoryCards that I ordered, which homeschoolers can purchase separate from the Grammar Punk curriculum.

4 cards for Naming Names
5 cards for Character-Istics
5 cards for Occupations
11 cards for Themes
16 cards for Settings
5 cards for Sentences
9 cards for Scenes
10 cards for Stories


Included but not in the acrylic storage box (too large) is the instruction booklet (~25 pages) for the StoryCards.  The StoryCards are a basic introduction to creative story writing, helping the student to develop their character and create sentences and scenes that become stories.   (Now that I've seen the basic story writing, I'm interested in their writing program, GP Creative!  )

Also included but not in the acrylic storage box (too large) were 10 pencils, a set of 5 for each of the two levels I purchased.  They say:

Grammar Punk 9-12 (or Grammar Punk K-9)
I am a Grammar Punk
www.GrammarPunk.com

Now, on to what the girls thought about playing it! 

Well, learning that involves "play" just can't help but be fun, right?  Right! 

So far, my girls have enjoyed it.  On the second day, when I brought out the Grammar Punk manual and dice, they were like "Yay!  Grammar Punk!!" 

I read over the manual's lesson plans first and I viewed the Power Point presentation.  The PP slides gives you specific instruction on the first several days of using the program, but is more intended to be viewed and implemented by a public classroom.  However, it tells you to go through the Primer (the student's 15 page booklet of the rules of grammar) first.  

The lesson plans in the manual start out with basic concepts such as capitalization, articles, etc.

We have been alternating...manual lessons one day, work on completing the Primer the next. 

The girls love to toss the dice and take turns doing so.  As they brainstorm for their dice words (a list of words they create based on the parameters of the tossed dice), I encourage them to look around, to glance through a book, etc. if they need help coming up with words.

My youngest (almost 9) is not up to grade with her writing skills, so she has the hardest time.  I don't require as much writing from her as I do my older.

I think the girls enjoy learning from their own sentences.  Not quite as boring as always reading someone else's sentences!

So, so far, so good and I'm happy with my purchase.  I think it will be even more fun in a group setting, such as our Grammar Punk co-op class this fall! 

This is definitely a program that can be used over many years and can be used by itself or used to supplement any LA program.  The program automatically grows with your child....the dice words will change according to the student's vocabulary.  The repeated practice helps cement the punctuation and grammar rules.   The addition of the special dice keeps it from becoming stale. 

Yep, I'm happy!



PS.....if you want to get a real idea about how the program works, visit the Grammar  Punk channel at YouTube.    (Try:  What is Grammar Punk, The Six GP Dice, GP's BUOF, and Writing a GP Sentence)



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