Homeschool – Page 19 – Little Learner and Mom

ARTistic Pursuits Inc. Vol 1 Review

March 23, 2019April 3, 2019 Little Learner and Mom

This month the Homeschool Review Crew was given the opportunity to review ARTistic Pursuits Inc. K-3rd Grade Level, Volumes 1-8 . Our family reviewed Art for Children, Building a Visual Vocabulary, K-3 Vol. 1 (an introduction to watercolor painting methods, color application, paper cutting and folding for beginners). Art has been an area we have struggled with in our home. Not because we don’t like doing art, more so because I struggled with tryin to to find the time to squeeze it into our busy schedule and program that didnt require a lot of previous art knowledge and supplies.

The Art for Children, Building a Visual Vocabulary, K-3 Vol. 1 program comes with a Blu-ray/DVD for both the student and parent to watch prior to doing lessons. This worked out well for us because we could watch together during lunch time and then apply what we learned after we finished up lunch. This made it simple for me to fit in art instruction without having to set aside a specified time. There are 6 instructional lessons on the DVD and 12 easy to follow text lessons and the art supply list was short and affordable. Some lessons included in the book are featured in the accompanying instructional video to help you cover some key component. . These instructional videos are not just for the student they are for the parent as well to help aid with learning. In the Identify and Mix Colors Lesson 4 was great review for us mixing colors to create new colors and using the watercolor crayons. We had fun using different shapes to practice mixing colors.

Children are first introduced to basic watercolor crayons, the company was gracious to send us a set of watercolor crayons and paintbrush. Children will learn to use oil pastels, colored paper and watercolor crayons. The children will also learn about textures, still life paintings, landscapes, and many more art mediums. One plus is children will receive some art history study while doing the course. There are several beautiful paintings in the book and I am hoping that more diverse artist are included in ARTistic Pursuits Inc. K-3rd Grade Level, Volumes 2-8 . Art appreciation is also stressed in this curriculum children will be presented with the artist and asked questions about the paintings to help further understanding and increase art vocabulary.

The Artist Imagine Lesson 3 was one of the lessons my son really enjoyed. In this lesson, we studied the painting The Birthday, 1915 by Mark Chagall. This lesson focused on the children using their imagination about a special event in their lives. My son decide to use the moment he received a very special gift from this past holiday. He paid close attention to his emotions and how he felt seeing the gift laid out on his bed when he arrived home. He and I spent some time talking about that day and how he felt. He carefully planned out the things he saw and imagine on that day. This was a great lesson for us to connect and bond.

We recently took a road trip and Lesson 7 Construction Paper: Cut was the perfect lesson for us to do. This lesson worked on his cutting skills and he was able to build a paper collage of things that he saw on the road. I really like how he decided to use foam paper for the clouds to give them more of a 3D appearance. He also wanted to show how the moon began to slowly appear in front of the sun as if it was an eclipse which he referenced back to Lesson 3 Artist Imagination and he was able to use that vocabulary when describing this art piece to me. I was really impressed withhis he reflection on a previous lesson and art terminology.

Art for Children, Building a Visual Vocabulary, K-3 Vol. 1 is a great program if you are trying to incorporate more art appreciation in your home. The lessons are easy to follow and the instructional DVD/Blue Ray add a nice component to the program. The cost for Vol. 1 is $39.99 plus tax. K-3rd Grade Level, Volumes 1-8 from ARTistic Pursuits Inc. makes art instruction easy for families!

Until Next Time,

Mom

Be sure to check out the other Homeschool Crew members reviews by clicking the picture below as they also reviewARTistic Pursuits Inc. K-3rd Grade Level, Volumes 1-8 . You can look for ARTistic Pursuits on their social media platforms below.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ArtisticPursuitsInc/
Twitter: @ARTisticPursui1
Instagram: @artisticpursuitsinc

Education, Homeschool

The Secret of the Hidden Scrolls Book #3 and # 4 Review!

February 27, 2019April 3, 2019 Little Learner and Mom

Finding clean literature for my son can sometimes be hard for a 6-year-old reader. I was honored when WorthyKids, an imprint of Hachette Book Groupsent us The Great Escape (Book #3) and Journey to Jericho (Book #4). This is the third and fourth books in the series, The Secret of the Hidden Scrolls. We received our books right before lunchtime and I decided we would dive into The Great Escape (Book #3) while we ate lunch. My son is an advanced reader, so the typical leveled books won’t always work for him because they are below his reading level and the books that are on his reading level tend to be too mature in content or they conflict with our parenting. So you can only imagine how grateful we were to receive these books.

What can I say we were hooked and instantly I went on Amazon to grabbed The Beginning (Book #1) and Race to the Ark (Book #2). I was shocked at how good the book was we read 4 chapters in one sitting. My son was so excited to finish it that we finished the book at bedtime. The books are fast-paced and adventurous. They instantly intrigue the reader from the first page.

One of the reasons why I believe my son was enthralled from the start is because of the story is told through the eyes of the children. One of the main characters writes journal entries about their excursions that we loved reading. The Great Escape (Book #3) takes place during the biblical times of Joesph when the Israelites were enslaved. The children learn about the plagues that God promised and they are able to read and comprehend the story from the perspective of the two main characters who are actually experiencing the events.

In the book Journey to Jericho (Book #4), it starts off as a mystery. Peter arises looking for his sister Mary and the Great Uncle Solomon who are nowhere to be found. Once he finds his sister they learn about Uncle Great Solomon secret life as a spy. The children are intrigued by the secret life as a spy and that’s when another great adventure begins when they are whooshed off 40 years later in Egypt. In Journey to Jericho (Book #4) the kids are working with the Israelites as they now have received Gods promise for a new home in the Promised Land. Peter and Mary begin their new mission to help the Isralites travel passed the city Jericho. The kids get chased down by soldiers and have to hideout the mountains and desert. One of my son’s favorite parts in the books is when Mary, Peter, and 2 Israelite spies are almost caught in Jericho and are hid by the little girl that Peter and Mary defended against some bullies. My son said, ” They were so brave for standing up for the little girl”. This warmed my heart see that he identified that being a bully isn’t right and that Peter and Mary showed bravery.

In The Secret of the Hidden Scrolls, the kids learn about history, friendship, and character education. These books are a wonderful read for children of any denomination. The books are for ages 6-9 with reading levels of grades 1-3. My son was able to read Journey to Jericho (Book #4). on his own and we used it as our reader’s response lessons for our homeschool lessons. He really enjoyed reading them and learning bits of history along the way. We are looking forward to catching up and backtracking and reading the other books in the series. I highly recommend you check out the The Secret of the Hidden Scrolls.

Be sure to check out the other Crew Reviews of the The Great Escape (Book #3) and Journey to Jericho (Book #4) by clicking the picture below.

Until Next Time,

Mom

Education, Homeschool, Parenting, Reviews

SchoolhouseTeachers.com Review!

February 6, 2019April 3, 2019 Little Learner and Mom

Today I am reviewing Ultimate Annual Yearly Membership. I am always on the hunt to find good solid learning resources that I can use as a supplement or as a curriculum for our homeschool. Schoolhouse Teacher offers parents the ease of having a solid curriculum and resources without all the hassle.

What you can expect from SchoolhouseTeachers.com this is an online product with downloadable, printable elements as well as online classes and video components. There are products for all ages and grades; including moms. You will find curriculum with lesson plans and an abundance of resources. You will have the assurance that all the core subjects, electives and unit studies are covered. I love unit studies and this is exactly what I was looking for to help me build my units.

Family

This year is our math year and we concentrating heavily on mastering basic math skills. My son craves variety during math lessons. I am also looking for ways to keep math fresh and fun. The Everyday Games section for 1st-4th grade gave me a huge selection of games with lessons plans to keep things fun and both of us happy! As a homeschooling mom, a lot of our lessons tend to follow my son interest lesson. He loves science and he isn’t exactly on the 1st-grade science level he is more at 2nd and 3rd grade. I was relieved to find the science section work to our advantage. I was able to lesson plan at a higher level on certain subject areas instead of having to buy two sets of curriculum. He really enjoys the challenge and I really enjoyed the flexibility.

Flexibility is a huge advantage with SchoolhouseTeachers.com the Ultimate Annual Yearly Membership does not limit what grade level you have to work within. You are able you move around in all the levels that best fit your family. For large homeschool families, this may be a huge saving.

SchoolhouseTeachers.com is not just your typical curriculum website they have thought of everything. In the resource section, you will Monthly Menu ideas for your family. Talk about life and sanity saver because I don’t know how many times I have been at a lost with planning meals and adding variety to our rotation.

Speaking of resources I was amazed to find World Book digital available to families. If you aren’t familiar with World Book digital it’s a great platform that basically has taken the hard book resource and made them available in a digital platform, therefore, keeping them always up to date and offering interactive activities for students as young as Preschool.

The website also has an extensive video library that is stocked with wholesome and clean videos for curriculum and research purposes. They also have religious videos for children and religious study.

I am a planner and I like schedules there is a custom schedule builder also to help you, this is a major plus in my opinion. I also was impressed with the Achievement Certificate Library, there have been times in which I have wanted to award my son a special certificate for his lesson and Schoolhouse Teachers make this possible hassle free and at no additional cost.

So there you have it my review of this wonderful website. I feel like this website would be a great fit for families looking for hassle-free learning and everyday family life. at half the cost of purchasing box curriculum. I also feel like this is a good option for large families. Everything you need is right at your fingertips interested in getting your own membership here is a discount code for joining. Discount Coupon Code: CREWFOLLOWER

Be sure and click on the banner to visit the Homeschool Review Crew blog to read more reviews of Ultimate Annual Yearly Membership.

Until the next,

Little Learner and Mom😊

Critical Thinking and Logic, Education, Homeschool, Osmos, S.T.E.A.M

Detective Agency Review from Play Osmo’s

November 24, 2018January 21, 2019 Little Learner and Mom

We have been huge Osmo’s fans since the launched in 2013. We are pretty strict around here in regards to screen time and we are selective about what he is allowed to watch and play.

On October 25th Osmo launched a new game Detective Agency. Osmo’s products never disappoint…the moment he saw the box was from Play Osmo’s he was jumping up and down with excitement. We are members of the Osmo’s Social Club and the anticipation of the new Detective Agency has been a huge topic in our household. The new game is for ages 5 and up, I can also see a younger sibling maybe 4 years old teaming up with a parent or sibling to play. In true Osmo tradition the new Detective Agency challenges your students to learn geography, culture and to use their critical thinking skills.

The new game comes in with easy storage case with 5 maps and interactive magnifying glass for your little sleuths to use on their adventures. You will need to have a Osmo Stand in order to play, as well as download the app from iTunes! You can play from your iPhone, iPad and if you own the newly released Kindle Fire Osmo Genius Kit. Your students will be engaged as soon as they load up the game. Children will be asked to solve different cases all over the world. The maps are vibrant and easy to read but challenging, children will be exposed to various cultural aspects of each country. Kids meet some new Osmo characters along the way and can easily follow the story mode on their own!

I really like this new system especially for the geography aspect, we found ourselves pulling the maps out just to look at them while we were doing our China history lesson. The game is very interactive which is great because it removes the thinking that geography is boring. This is a great new resource for teaching geography Osmos did a great job selecting a country to represent of 6 continents, there is also a world map and Osmo Town. Overall I give the new system a thumbs up as holiday gift and additional resource for your home school or home for learning geography.

So what does my son have to say about the new Osmos Detective Agency, ….he loves Brazil and wants to go there! He likes capturing the bad guys and he wants to play all day.

The Detective Agency retails for $39, don’t forget you need the stand in order to play. For those who have Kindle Fire tablets you can purchase the Osmos Genius Kit which comes with the Kindle Fire Stand and you can purchase the Detective Agency kit and then download the app from the Amazon Store. For IOS user download from iTunes for free the name in the App Store is Osmo Detective Agency. If you are interested in checking out our youtube review click here.

Education, Homeschool, Mom Life, Parenting

Our Day and a Life in Homeschooling!

November 9, 2018November 9, 2018 Little Learner and Mom

I am seriously a type A person, I crave organization and planning. There is a huge issue with being a Type A person and homeschooling you have to be able to create balance for yourself and a relaxed learning environment for your student.

November Schedule

My day typically day starts at 5/5:30 am…with prayers and trying to collect my thoughts before the day jump starts. My son is up every morning by 6:30 am, I know yikes!! We spend some time talking and cuddling and then he gets up and gets dressed and makes his bed and plays. Breakfast is at 7/7:30 am while he eats and watches Arthur I clean the kitchen and check in with the hubby and take out dinner and prep his snacks for the day for him.

We keep it pretty simple for breakfast…I always make enough pancakes on Sunday for 3 days. After breakfast he brushes his teeth and does his chores and then starts his independent board work. I write his board work on the board after he goes to bed at night so it’s ready in the morning. While he does board work I check emails and do some work at the computer, chores and then I join him at the table.

Home School Time

This is how our day runs for home school we typically start at 9am!

We kick the day off with Math! Why you may ask? Math is the area of study we are really concentrating on this year. I needed this subject to be first because his mind is ready and sharp! Math is divided into 3 areas:

Hands On Activity

Review and Teach

Lessons

Math Fact Fluency

After math we have brain breaks!! Brain breaks can be listening to music dancing and acting silly or letting him hang out with GoNoodle Plus!!

Once we are done with brain breaks we move on to handwriting! Handwriting I rotate what he is working on throughout the week:

M-F Learning Without Tears

1 day a week Journal

2 days a week Spectrum Handwriting

Chalkboard review (this targets any letter that needs some support)

1 day a week copy work

Reading and Language Arts are the areas that he breezes through super fast these days so I tend to leave this to the end of our morning! At some point between these subjects he grabs a snack! I like to break these areas down also:

Reading

Phonics cards (5 mins)

Sight Words (5 mins)

Spelling box (10-15 mins)

Daily lesson (30-40 mins some time less)

Language Arts

Grammar work (10 mins)

Time for Lunch

During lunch we eat together and that’s when I do our read aloud. Sometimes I let him watch a show on PBS Kids or Netflix. During lunch we typically talk about what he wants to do in the afternoon. We clean up lunch and then we head outside for some fresh air or we go out and run errands.

Afternoon

Normally the afternoon is when we do our electives we rotate them, but as of lately he has been requesting to do them all especially science. He also has taken a liking to social studies. Geography and History are defiantly rotated throughout the week. He grabs a snack while doing these electives. Our electives take about 45 mins – 1hour to run through! By 2:30/3 pm we are done for the day!

The afternoons are also reserved for special interest activities and extra curricular activities and knowledge box, but typically he just does whatever he wants. He is a HUGE Osmo fan and loves to code!

His Time

The one thing I make sure I do every day is make sure I set aside at least 30-60 mins where him and I just play. Some days he doesn’t want to play together but he just wants me in the room with him just so we can talk and he can show me what he is working on or whatever he wants. I think this is an important aspect for our day because he gets to have me in his space on his own terms! Don’t get me wrong we play all day while doing school and talk but this time of the day is special for him because he is in charge.

Late Afternoon

Daddy is usually home and they hang out for a little or he plays and helps me with dinner. Once again Arthur is watched or Odd Squad these are his two favorite shows. He can’t watch them until he has done his 20 mins of required reading.

Early Evening

We always eat dinner as a family and talk about our day and do our High’s and Low’s. My son usually finishes up dinner before we do and he clears his plate and and puts his pajamas on unless it’s bath night. He heads back downstairs and helps me clean the kitchen while we groove out to 90’s R& B on Alexa Amazon Music!

Bedtime

Our bedtime routine has been pretty much the same since he was a baby! My son is usually in bed no later than 8pm and sleep by 8:15 pm. There are some rare occasion when Daddy is working late but on those days he Face-time us so he is still apart of this special time.

The one thing I have learned is to follow his lead. No day is perfect, I just pause and rewind, reevaluate and let go. If he is showing an interest in something I just let that interest direct our day. Are there areas we could improve in? Probably so, but the wonderful thing about choosing this path to be a homeschooler is we are not on a clock. I want to enjoy our time together and for him to continue to develop a healthy love for learning.

So I am keeping my type A personality in line and balancing what he needs as well. If that means I do laundry at night after he goes down that’s fine. If only 50% of the things in my planner gets done I have made my peace with it. My planner is only a blueprint and not the final design of our week.

There is no such thing as a perfect homeschool, I try to let my followers and friends know that we are far from perfect in this house. There are days the house could use a little more TLC and I could make that uploaded picture on my Instagram look blemish free, staged and photoshopped, but why? That’s not real it’s fake and it applies way too much pressure on new families who want to take on this journey. I have decided to keep it real I am doing the best I can to make it through this crazy life and doing what matters.

So, if you happen to catch us on Instgram or swing by our way on Facebook, feel free to reach out to me because I am never too busy to lend a helping hand or just need a coffee chat with a fellow mama. Enjoy your children and let go of perfect and make everyday count!

Until Next Time,

Little Learner and Mom

Critical Thinking and Logic, Education, Homeschool, Morning Basket, Parenting, Science

Why We Like Zoey and Sassafras!

October 13, 2018October 13, 2018 Little Learner and Mom

I first came across the Zoey and Sassafras series when a good friend of mine started her Melanin Books 4 Melanin Kids Facebook group she posted about a book that was diverse and told a story about a little girls love for science! I was instantly intrigued and decided to check it out for us.

Over the last several years schools and companies have been focusing on the need for children to study more about S.T.E.AM ( Science,Technology, Engineering, Art and Mathematics). While we love technology in our home we try to find a balance so our son stays up to date, but also enjoys hands on learning. At the time I was in search of a good read aloud that introduced science to him in a fun way but appealed to his natural curiosity to learn about a topic.

We hit the jackpot when we read the first Zoey and Sassafras book Dragons and Marshmallows he was instantly hooked! There are now 6 books in the series and we have read them all. The books are easy to read and the illustrations are cute. He has learned about the scientific method, journaling and other fun topics. I love how the author uses real science terminology throughout the book that appeals to the child’s understanding.

In this series you will find:

Positive Family dynamics
Critical Thinking and Problem Solving
Clean literature
Strong Science Connection
Exploration of Nature
Fun and Humor
The series makes for a great read aloud and can be easily paired with a science unit study!

We were so excited about the newest book release Unicorns and Germs we held giveaway on our Instagram. My son was thrilled about the new book we received it on Tuesday and we finished it on Friday! All he can talk about is doing the experiment from the book, so we are waiting on his The Magic School Bus: The World of Germs to show up so we can test what we learned from Zoey! If you are looking for a series to help your child learn more about science and how fun it can be I would definitely recommend checking out this series. This also a great series for girls in science and also for the inclusion of more diversity in science. Zoey is a sweet little girl with some special abilities and your child will grow to love her family and friends!

Be sure to stop by the authors website Fun At Home With Kids to find out more about fun things you and your child can do.

Until Next Time,

Little Learner and Mom

The following post includes affiliate links and I receive a small compensation when you click the links at no additional charge to you!

Chess, Critical Thinking and Logic, Education, Homeschool

Story Time Chess Review!

September 30, 2018September 30, 2018 Little Learner and Mom

Over the weekend we started playing chess as a family. My son immediately took to the game and also took my Knight in the process…😱!! My husband who is already an excellent chess player was happy to join in and gives us a few lessons along the way.

As new chess player I knew I still needed help to teach myself and my son the game when daddy wasn’t around. So, I enlisted the help of Story Time Chess newly launched at home curriculum. I have been watching this company for over a year now and heard such wonderful things about the program. One of the things that appealed to me was the use of literature based learning of the game.

*This is from the Story Time Chess website I don’t own the rights to this picture!*

Story Time Chess is about the adventures in Chesslandia. The children are engaged in the story from the start. What immediately caught my son’s attention was the humor and the mention of pizza! The kids learn how to play through reading the story of each chess piece. After the children read each chapter of the story they are able to practice what they have learned. Each lesson is broken down into 3 parts Story, Chesserecises and Gameplay. The way the story line is set up so even the youngest player will learn the game and love it.

Here is what I like about it:

Literature Based Learning

Diverse Characters in the Storyline

Storyline easy to follow and provides humor and relatable situations.

Each chess piece is given its opportunity to shine.

Wonderful Illustrations !

Easy to follow lesson plans!

Encourages physical movement of the child.

Low cost and variety of payment plans.

The ability to play without having the actual Story Time Chess Board.

Appeals to children younger than 5 years old.

My son enjoyed the story and has already asked if we can reread it again. Here it is Sunday morning and the chess board is already out and set up.

What my son said he liked about it:

Funny!

Pizza part!

Easy to play!

Not boring Mom!

Chesserercise are the best part!

If you are interested in trying out Story Time Chess click here to register for a free trial. The actual game board for Story Time Chess is available for pre-order on the website. Story Time Chess is here to stay and we look forward to all the upcoming lessons to come with the curriculum.

Until next time!

Little Learner and Mom

*This is my own review and opinion!

Homeschool

The Homeschooler Planner

June 23, 2018 Little Learner and Mom

So it’s that time of the year again, when homeschooling moms set forth looking for the perfect planner for the upcoming school year. I have tried so many planners I stopped counting …lets examine all the ones that have failed me:

Planner failures:

The Etsy design cute, customization, downloadable and eats up all your dang ink to print out, then you end up going over your instant ink monthly plan and spending about what it would cost to buy one already put together in overage charges.

The traditional teacher planner, sooo not for the Home school Mom well at least not this Mom. You spend hours trying to customize it to work for you and end up not using it at all because you just don’t have that kind of time. Oh and let’s not forget the mountains of washi tape and stickers you end up accumulating trying to cover stuff up. I seriously had to get my life right with the washi and sticker issue because the cost was eating into my homeschool budget.

Then there’s is old faithful where you just build it from scratch yourself with the help of TPT (Teacher Pay Teacher), Pinterest, YouTube and Homeschooling mom bloggers created templates (ladies I want to personally thank you for all your help, because the struggle is real) . Now old faith usually works for the most part because she isn’t judgemental and she is of your own creation sorta. All of the above planners are great they offered something that I was attracted to and I felt would work for us, but something went wrong on my end.

Now with all this said it brings me to the planner I used this past school year…You see a good friend of mine who happens to be vlogger homeschool mom, her and I spent weeks I MEAN LITERALLY WEEKS discussing the pros and cons of 2 planners. In the end we settled on one and we were confident in our decision….PROUD!! So tell me why we both ended up not using the thing towards the last 5 months of school. The funny part was neither of us told the other until a conversation came up about planning, which now included another home school mom and all 3 of us had tossed our planners and now just resorted to writing down our lessons on a one page sheet of paper each week.

So why I am telling you all this? Homeschooling is all about trials and errors, one size doesn’t fit all. You have to be okay with things not working out like you planned and be open to change. You will go through several planners, curriculum, co-ops, classroom set ups etc..until you find what works for you. Your ultimate goal is finding what works for you it may take some time but I promise you will get there. Another good friend of mine who happens to be a blogger and a unschooler gave me some of the best advice when I was pregnant with my son and had all these plans for my delivery…she said “childbirth is unpredictable” those 3 words have stayed with me over the last 5 years and when I feel like I am losing it I just think….

…homeschooling is unpredictable .”

So what did I decide for this year? I have decided to go with the Plum Paper Homeschool Planner. I just received it this morning so I am still checking it and plan to do a review at the end of July. So far I can say I am pretty happy with it 😊!

Until next time,

Mom