TOS Crew 2011-2012 Vendor Awards!

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For the 2011-2012 School Year I have had the privilege to be a reviewer for The Old Schoolhouse Magazine's TOS Homeschool Crew. Each year, at the end of the year, the reviewers get to vote on the favorite and the best products of the year. The votes have been tallied and the results are in. Below are the results. For the products that I had the privilege to review, the product is linked to my review. For ones that I did not review, the product is linked to the TOS Crew Blog's Reviews page for the product. 


Favorite Reading Instruction Product:  Reading Eggs
Favorite Writing Product:  Write Shop
Favorite Language Arts Product: Progeny Press
Favorite Social Studies Product: TruthQuest History
Favorite Science Product: Amazing Science
Favorite Math Product: Math Mammoth
Favorite Online Math Product: Math Rider
Favorite Foreign Language Product: Visual Latin
Favorite Fine Arts Product: Artistic Pursuits
Favorite Christian Education Product:  Apologia: Who Am I?
~~~
Favorite Preschool Product: Before Five in a Row
Favorite Elementary Product: All About Reading
Favorite Middle School Product:  Write with WORLD
Favorite High School Product: Excellence in Literature
Favorite College or College-Prep Product:  Excellence in Literature
~~~
Best Online Resource:  Reading Eggs
Best e-Product: Heritage History
Best Homeschool Resource: Apologia: Educating the Wholehearted Child
Best Book, Novel, or Magazine: Apologia: How to Have a HEART for Your Kids
Best Children’s Book: Amazing Animals by Design
Best Game or Toy: Northstar Games: Wits and Wagers and Say Anything
Best Hands-On Resource: Pitsco Education
~~~
Best Resource I Didn’t Know I Needed: eMeals
Best Customer Service: K5 Learning
Most Adaptable Resource: Creek Edge Press
Most Family-Oriented Resource: Northstar Games: Wits and Wagers and Say Anything~~~
Kids’ Choice (favorite of CHILDREN ages 0-12):  Reading Eggs
Teens’ Choice (favorite per the TEENAGERS): Pitsco Education
All Around Crew Favorite: Visual Latin
Each winning vendor has received this wonderful award to display with pride:
Congratulations to the winning vendors!  TOS Crew hopes you will sail with the Crew again!

In Which we Try to End Strong!

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I have been scurrying for a couple of weeks, trying to end when I had planned (tomorrow). The hurrier I go, the behinder I get!

My mind has been somewhat fogged, anyway, because my step-sister, who lives with us, has been ill. It appears she may have been sitting on symptoms for years, and waited until it is too late-- it is looking like stage IV breast cancer. I will find out Friday.

In the meantime, some of the subjects have been sliding. In April, I had tax issues, and my subjects that slide when I don't have time, slid... That would be nature study, artist study, and composer study. Some nature study DID get done, and I even took photos, but I haven't had time to blog about it.

So, blogging has slid as well. I've kept up with my reviews, but little else. So, here is our current effort at our home school before we can end for the summer.

BIBLE
My son finished his Awanas year strong, only to find out that he wasn't eligible for an award that he longs for. This was because he joined Awanas at the end of 4th Grade, and only has completed two books of T&T. So, after a conversation with the Awanas leader, he learned that he is allowed to complete those two books, become eligible for the award, and move on to Trek. He's been going like gangbusters on the first of those two books, and I think he is 3/4 finished after only three weeks. (This is a book that is normally done in a year! This is amazing!)

In addition, we have begun the Apologia study of the series, "What We Believe", book 3, Who is my Neighbor. He is doing this grudgingly, but today, when he saw the word search in the journal,  continued to growl (with a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth), and left his Legos and disappeared to work on it. He loves word searches!

We also did the hymn, Rock of Ages:


MATH:This year we have been working on Horizon's 6. We almost finished early, and then let the last six lessons slide, and now are scurrying to finish up. After I go over something JD needs help with, I think we are done. I think he actually already did the final test.

We are also doing (almost) daily work with IXL.com to cement facts. He also previously was using AdaptedMind.com (I had a free 30-day trial), which he really liked, and he was not happy when I switched him from that to IXL. He doesn't do well with change.

SPANISH:
We are currently working hard trying to get started in Spanish. We have a 7-week course with Homeschool Spanish Academy, which I will report on in July.  We've had a rocky time of starting with this. My son seems to expect to know stuff before he gets taught, and then gets upset when he is asked something that he doesn't know the answer to. ::sigh::

Ah! Update! We had class today, and he was doing much better! ::sigh of relief::


HISTORY:
We have actually finished all of our history assignments for the year. We have just finished AmblesideOnline.org Year 5, Term 1.

LANGUAGE ARTS:
My son has been regularly working on a Daily Grammar book, a handwriting book, and we have done writing assignments here and there. I didn't do much to work on his spelling -- he's always above grade-level on that one, so I let it slide for the time being.

LITERATURE:
Each day we finish more of our books that we have been reading from Ambleside. We finished Of Courage Undaunted, by Daugherty,last week, as well as our Isaac Newton Biography. Some of our "reads" fall under "Free Reads" instead of "Literature" by the AO schedule, but it is all the same to me. Left in our bin we are working on Little Britches, by Ralph Moody, The Little White Horse, by Goudge, and On the Back of the North Wind, by George MacDonald. I think we won't finish Little Britches today, but we should be finishing the other two.


GEOGRAPHY
I think we are behind the AO schedule on our reading of The Book of Marvels. I'm not sure if I will continue to work on it this summer, or just squeek it into our schedule in the fall. Our last reading was about a French citadel called Carcassonne, which we really enjoyed reading about due to our love of a game by the same name that was apparently based on the place, made by a European country. We ignorant Americans had had no idea it was an actual place!


So, Art, Music, Physical Education, Health... I wish I had more to put down for my review, but hopefully our reviewer will be content that we did enough to be marked "Compliant" for our state's requirements.


So, that's it for now. Need to get off and get on with my day. Thanks for reading.
 

OHC More Nature Study Book #4- Yellow Jackets and Mud Daubers

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Welcome to the More Nature Study Book #4 series of summer nature study challenges!

This is going to be a jam-packed summer of nature study using the challenges and the newsletter suggestions. Our family is looking forward to spending time outdoors together as we focus on the various aspects of summer nature study...including a trip to the ocean and to a local pond. I encourage all to join in and learn more about your local nature habitat as well as those you may encounter during your summer travels.


More Nature Study Book #4
Summer Sizzle
Yellow Jackets and Mud Daubers Insect Study

Inside Preparation Work

• Read pages 378-384 in the Handbook of Nature Study (Lessons 94 and 95). Learn the life story and the habits of each of these insects. Glean a few ideas from the lesson suggestions to apply in your study for this challenge.
• Preparatory video : YouTube on Yellow Jacket Stings
• Previous summer insect challenges: Mosquitoes, Moths and Fireflies, and Crickets, Grasshoppers, and Katydids.

Outdoor Hour Time:

• Spend some time outdoors this week looking for summer insects. If you spot a mud dauber, the Handbook of Nature Study says the “purpose of this study is to watch the mud daubers while building their nests and capturing their prey.” The Handbook of Nature Study also suggests watching a yellow jacket eat from a dish of sweetened fruit placed outdoors.
• If you spot any insects during your outdoor time, make careful observations of their movements, behavior, and appearance.
• Advanced Study: What is attracting your yellow jackets? Use your observation skills and record in your nature journal anything you find that attracts yellow jackets to your home.

Follow-Up Activity:

• Record in your nature journal any summer insects you observed during your outdoor time. If you observe a yellow jacket or a mud dauber, record your insect in your nature journal. Ebook users: You can use the notebook page provided. You may wish to keep a running list of insects for the whole summer in your journal as well.
• Compare the yellow jacket and the mud dauber. Ebook Users: Optional coloring pages for the yellow jacket.
• Advanced Study: Conduct additional research on the insect order– hymenoptera. Use a field guide and complete two additional nature journal entries for insects in this order found in your backyard or local area.

Additional Links:

• Western Yellow Jacket information from University of California
• Printable yellow jacket information sheet
• Bees, Wasps, and Ants of North America—excellent images and information
• Bee and Wasp Up-Close—just as a reference

All the summer challenges for 2012 are included in the new More Nature Study Book #4 Summer Sizzle ebook. The challenges in the ebook are the same challenges that will post every Friday here on my blog. If you want to follow along with notebook pages and coloring pages, click over and learn more about the ebook.

OHC Summer 2012 Photo Challenge

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A photo challenge for the summer!
I enjoyed participating in the April Get Outside Photo Scavenger Hunt a few months ago and I realized how much more I gleaned from our nature walks with a photo assignment in hand.

As part of the More Nature Study Book #4 Summer Sizzle ebook plans, I included a photo challenge with each assignment. I am going to open it up to anyone who wants to participate by giving you the list of assignments and the Pinterest Board for pinning your photos. If you would like to join the Pinterest board, please send me your name on Pinterest in an email: harmonyfinearts@yahoo.com.

Free Printable List of Summer Photo Challenges
You can complete the challenges in any order you would like. You can take the photos or your children can take the photos. This is a fun, relaxed activity that I hope brings some joy to your outdoor time.

Frontyard Garden - Surprise Yard Art Sunflower

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So....when Mr. A was spending all that time down in the shop over the past few weeks I thought he was working on his mini bike. Turns out he was creating a surprise for this garden loving mama.



We have a spot in the front yard that I have been saving for some garden art but so far I hadn't found anything I liked. Using his welding skills, his amazing creative eye, and a lot of hard work, Mr. A designed and then made this sunflower art and then while I was out for a walk, placed it in the garden. (Mr. A is my eighteen year old son....in case you are new to the blog.)


It is about five feet tall and is now securing situated in the rock garden area on the top terrace of my front yard. I can see it from my living room window which is really the best angle for seeing it. Didn't he do an amazing job?


The rest of the front yard has become an amazing palette of color and every corner is now filling in with living things. The hummingbirds, bees, and butterflies are always flying here and there among the blossoms. The bees are even up in the blossoming tulip poplar tree.


I am enjoying the sage this year...I think it is the shape and the delicate flowers. Or maybe it is the scent of sage that sort of lingers in the air after you walk by.


We haven't added anything new this week to the garden but the Lamb's Ear that I am trying in the rock garden is growing and filling in the space I have. My friend warned me that it will take over but I am confident that the rocks will contain it or in the end I can thin it as needed. You can see the poppies in this image too...they are being left until they go to seed so we can have a bumper crop of springtime poppies next year.

Our time this week in the garden was spent trimming bushes on the side of the house, cutting back the neighbor's blackberry vines from the fence line, and a bit of weeding around the bottoms of the bird feeders.


Here is one shot from the backyard garden. This is my rather temperamental rhododendron. Look at it! Blooming so pretty this year.

Now is such an exciting time in the garden. My focus this year has shifted from veggies to flowers since we have an amazing Farmer's Market where I can glean as much fresh stuff as our family needs without all the fussing. I may go back to growing lots of veggies in the future but for now it is nice just to enjoy the colors and shapes of the flowers. (I do have a few staples in the back square foot garden but not much more than herbs, zucchini, okra, and a tomato.)

Sigh...I love this time of year.




Jami's Tuesday Garden Party meme is open from Tuesday to Thursday so there is still time for you to jump in and participate!

Chasing Yellow Jackets - Our Summer Nature Study Begins

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Yellow Jackets and Mud Daubers - Summer Insect Study

I made a call to my dad who I know always has wasp nests around his property. Of course, he didn't know I was going to be wanting to see his nests so he had cleaned them all out a few days ago. Sigh. I was so discouraged because I wasn't aware of any nests at our house.



I mentioned this to Mr. B and he immediately knew where there was the beginnings of a nest up in the eaves of our patio. Wahoo! I was excited and he thought I was nuts. I asked him to bring over a ladder so we could climb up and get a good view and he was not thrilled about the prospect of getting up close to the nest. It is an active nest and he has been stung before and know that they hurt. I told him I would do the climbing and take a few quick photos.



We decided after some investigation that this is a paper wasp nest and not a yellow jacket nest. Paper wasps have open celled hanging nests and yellow jackets are usually subterranean or enclosed.

This was an amazing structure and it is only because of the information in the Handbook of Nature Study that we were moved to peer closely at this insect's home. 

We found this webpage to be helpful: Wasps, Yellow jackets, and Hornets.



We have found several other insects that we think are yellow jackets so this study will be on-going as we move through the summer and into our picnic season. In our part of the country we often times call yellow jackets by another name, meat bee. I thought this was because they always come around when we have a burger on our plates but after some reading online I learned it is because they ofter eat other insects (hence the reference to meat?).


On another insect note from the week, we found these interesting eggs on the backside of the hydrangea leaves. We identified them as harlequin bug eggs. I can't get over how each creature is as unique from the very beginning as they are as adults. We were able to ID this bug from the tiniest details on the eggs. Amazing.

What a great start to our summer nature study! We posted our first photo in the Summer Photo Challenge: Cricket! Everyone is welcome to join the photo challenge at any time.



Also, don't forget to submit your blog entries to the Outdoor Hour Challenge Blog Carnival. Every entry this month is an entry into the Your Backyard Monarch Butterfly Giveaway as announced in the June Newsletter. Take advantage of the time to get outside with your children this month, even if it is just a few minutes and you follow your child's lead. Keep it simple and enjoy it!



You can see one of my dad's paper wasp nests in this entry: Paper Wasps

Muhammed Shafi charged with the murder of Tuanjai Sprengel, 43, Who was discovered dead by two gardeners in an underpass in Bracknell, Berkshire

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A mother found dead in a subway was a fully trained kick-boxer who had been dating the man accused of killing her.

Tuanjai Sprengel, 43, was found with her head battered from behind, lying in an underpass in Bracknell, Berkshire, on Sunday morning.

Today her partner Muhammed Shafi, 28, briefly appeared before magistrates' charged with murder.

The suspect was arrested in the couple's one-bedroom flat just six hours after the Thai-born mother-of-one was found dead.

He was remanded in custody today by magistrates in Slough and he is due to appear again at Reading Crown Court tomorrow.

Shafi, from Pakistan, was not asked to confirm his address or date of birth as an interpreter had not been provided.

The 28-year-old, who speaks limited English, was flanked by two security guards as he appeared in the dock for the brief hearing. Read More