This will be more like a Wordless Wednesday post, just not so wordless, lol. The pics are Monday's "science" lesson. It was just too nice to be inside so the kids went to the pond. This was caught in the middle of the pond, while wearing waders! No, it wasn't me : - )
It was my son. But I had fun holding him.

"Teaching writing has never been easier!®"

Do you dread the time that is spent trying to encourage your child to write? Does that encouragement become a debate round with no winner? If you've answered yes, then I may have the solution for you!

WriteShop is company that was created by 2 homeschool moms,  Kim Kautzer & Debbie Oldar. In their search to teach writing, the sources they found just didn't contain everything they were looking for: clarity, conciseness, focus on strong paragraph development, a variety of writing activities, teach students refining skills, & help parents learn to evaluate student's work. 

They ultimately put together their own program, WriteShop. It's "engaging, step-by-step lessons present students with the building blocks of the writing process—pre-writing, brainstorming, writing, and revising—and help you edit and evaluate their work."  

So what is it, exactly? It is a systematic approach to helping your child gain writing skills and have fun, too. It is a creative writing program that can work with many learning styles. It is flexible and can be used for children of different levels.

WriteShop can help you teach your children how to write with confidence.
The TOS Crew has been given the opportunity to review a few of the levels that WriteShop offers. I was given Book D, which is geared for students in 3rd & 4th grade, but can be used with reluctant 5th or 6th graders. I used it with my struggling 6th grader & as a refresher with my high schooler.

According to WriteShop, "Book D teaches the basics: how to come up with ideas; brainstorm and organize before writing; choose more interesting words; learn to self-edit in a fun and positive way; and publish creatively."

There are two components to WriteShop, the Teacher's Guide & the Activity Pack. The Teacher's guide literally guides you how to teach & evaluate your child's work. It offers step by step suggestions to get you in the right direction with scheduling & lesson plan ideas. 

The Activity Pack is twofold. It contains student worksheets on the left and the Level 1 Fold-N-Go Grammar Pack on the right. They tear off at the top for each lesson.

There are 60 worksheets pages that include pre-writing activiites, skill builders, journal prompt pages, brainstorming worksheets, reading log forms, self-editing checklists, and skills evaluation charts. 

The Fold-N-Go Grammar Pack allows the student to create 10 grammar & writing guides. There are 20 bookmarks that have quick reviews on them, too. The Grammar Pack contains the following guides: punctuation marks, self-editing, nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, capitalization, & references.

The Book D set teaches:

There is also a Time Saver Pack This pack saves you valuable time by having the games & props already completed (no prep-time required). There are 20 sturdy pages printed on white and colored pages. They correlate with the lessons in the Activity Book and instructions are in the Teacher's Guide. You are all set!

 I really like WriteShop! I like how easy it is to use, once you get the hang of it. The lessons are step-by-step and incremental. You start out slow and move along as your student progresses. Because I have a struggling 6th grader, I believe WriteShop offered me the ability to reintroduce writing in a fun and not so stressful way. For my high schooler, it was an interesting way to review, and even learn a few new skills that were overlooked.

You can preview a free sample's of each of levels here to see if it's right for you and your family.

You can purchase WriteShop Junior Activity Pack (Book D), print version, for $39.95. The ebook version is $29.95. You will also need the Book D Teacher's Guide to guide your student through the worksheets & projects. This is $39.95 in print or $34.95 as an ebook. The Time Saver Pack can be purchased for $13.95 print or ebook.

WriteShop offers products for grades K-12 and I am confident there will be at least one that work for you and your family. You can view them here.

Disclaimer: I received these products free as a member of the TOS Homeschool Crew with the sole purpose of providing an honest review after using them. For more information on this, please see my disclaimer. 

Below is information on a great celebration happening RIGHT NOW!

It's over at 7onaShoestring and she is having different prizes everyday ending with the Grand Prize on June 6th. Please click on over to her blog and follow the steps to enter.

Knowing the basics of math is the first step in becoming a great mathematician. The basics; like addition, subtraction, multiplication, & division. But often times these basic facts get left behind as we introduce calculators & computers into the mix. I remember completing Calculus assignments and realizing the answer was incorrect because I added wrong. How frustrating! Memorizing facts and tables is a great way to learn, but even with memorizing,  that can be boring (according to my kids).

Now there is a better way to help your kids learn & retain math facts. It's called CapJaxMathFax. CapJax is a software program that you can quickly & easily download onto your PC or MAC and is also available on CD. No more flashcards getting lost or fact tables being misplaced. The program is designed to be like a game where your student chooses the levels and concepts. The difficulty of the game is dependent on the student's level and progression is adjusted automatically according to his/her skill improvement.

CapJax was designed by Jack Fretwell (Captain Jack) of Starboard Training Systems. Mr. Fretwell earned his Master's in Educational Technology and has been in education and computers for over 30 years. He has been heading CapJaxMathFax for over 10 years & has "seen many children develop stronger math skills and confidence." The goal of Starboard Training Systems is to "help organizations that teach, train and mentor our children so that not one is without basic math abilities." (CapJax about me)


Here is a short video about the need for increased math skills:

To get started with the program, you download the program and plug in your license key. 

Once set up, you will see a screen like that to the left. You (or your student) will click "Go For It" (and the mouse is even a little captain at the wheel). 







From there you will find the login screen. The teacher & "player" have the opportunity to choose the math concept & level each time the game is play.






Once you're logged in, you will see a screen similar to the one below. The game automatically generates the exercises based on the students choices and level (based on previous sessions). There is a timer so the player has an opportunity to see his/her success as well as "Super Seconds", which challenges the student to answer in less than 3 seconds. Below are a couple of screen shots. You will see in the left pic, there is a graph that shows the student's progress. And the teacher can also view progress through summary & diagnostic reports. 

If you would like to get a feel for the program, you can try the program for free. Simply download the free evaluation program to get started. According to CapJax "The evaluation package demonstrates the full system. . . .  We've included notes to help explain how the software works to improve basic skills." After you've tried the program, you just purchase the license key for $29.95. This license is good for up to 10 users! It's a great deal, for sure, and a good investment.

As a member of the TOS Crew, we were given a 6mo. license key to try out CapJaxMathFax. I really do like the program. The concept is great, it's easy to use, and my kids can practice math facts at their own pace, as often as they want for however long they want. To learn more about CapJaxMathFax, go to their features. There is also a great "Why Pick CapJaxMathFax" page that will answer many questions for you.

Try out CapJaxMathFax today for free and see if it'll work for your home. It does for mine.

Disclaimer: I received this product free as a member of the TOS Homeschool Crew with the sole purpose of providing an honest review after using it. For more information on this, please see my disclaimer.

Finding wholesome, educational books, DVD's, CD's, & more, at low cost, can be a real challenge. There are many companies that offer them, but it's finding one that will give you the best deal possible that's not always easy.

Library and Educational Services (LES) is a company that will do just that. LES is a wholesale distributor of educational and inspirational materials. They offer "a wide selection of children’s books, books for teens, and adult fiction and nonfiction titles. We carry popular audio series such as Adventures in Odyssey, Your Story Hour, and the Focus on the Family Radio Theatre series. DVDs such as Moody Science Classics are also popular." LES also carries the Childhood of Famous Americans series, Trailblazer Books, and Christian authors like Karen Kingsbury, Beverly Lewis, Max Lucado, and Dr. James Dobson.
 
Library and Educational Services offers 30-70% off retail prices! These discounted prices are available to wholesale customers, which include: resellers, libraries (directors & librarians), schools, teachers & other school leaders, churches & church leaders, home educators, & missionaries. To learn more about ordering from LES, you can read their FAQ's.

As a member of the TOS Crew, we were introduced to LES when we were given the opportunity to review Go Science DVD's. Mr. Ben Roy is the instructor in each of the videos. He teaches science methods at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and is the former director of a science program on television. He brings exciting science experiments to life in each of the Go Science videos, each based on the particular topic of the video.

We received Volume 3: Magnetism, Electricity, Engineering, & Design & Volume 6: Water, Space, & Solar System.

Volume 3's run time is 54 minutes and is appropriate for ages 5-11. The demonstrations include:

Monster Magnets * A/C Electromagnet

D/C Electromagnet * Making a Compass

Static Electricity * Light Bulb * Jacob's Ladder

Conductivity * Solar Energy * Tesla Coil * Color

Cut Paper Halves * Heat Engine * Plastic Pre Forms


 

At the end of every clip, in every DVD, Mr. Roy exclaims:

Volume 6 runs for 37 minutes and is also appro_priate for children ages 5-11. The demonstrations include:


Water Disappear * Boil Water in a Paper Cup

Properties of Water * Floating Balls

As Cold as Outer Space * Make a Rocket

Living in Space * Solar System * Centripetal Force

Disclaimer: I received these products free as a member of the TOS Homeschool Crew with the sole purpose of providing an honest review after using them For more information on this, please see my disclaimer.

Teaching our children The Bible and Godly character is our commission as parents. Our home is our mission field while our children live there and we must help them learn what is important before they enter the "real" world. Helping them build a strong foundation on The Lord will provide them with a sound structure on which they can stand. 

How do we do this? There are many avenues that we can take to achieve this goal, but I would like to tell you about one that allows you to teach the way you want to and how you want to, but offers you suggestions and ideas for both.

It's called Judah Bible Curriculum. JBC doesn't have a traditional curriculum that you follow. It doesn't dictate what to teach or how to teach it.  It helps teachers & students break curriculum dependence by using the Bible as the textbook

JBC uses the "Principle Approach" -

"Principle Approach refers to a philosophy of education whose content and methods are designed to build character in teacher and student capable of sustaining liberty.

The Principle Approach is a resurgence of the Biblical philosophy of education prevalent in the founding period of America, when the character of the American colonists was one of dependence on God, not the State." (Bill Burtness, author JBC)

The philosophy of education of JBC is based on the philosophy of government. You will find on JBC's website "Our philosophy of government guides our education in such a way that the content and methods of our education produce individual character that reinforces and aids our philosophy of government." This is a wonderful summation, but there is a great Powerpoint presentation that explains the Philosophy of Education & Government behind the curriculum.  You will find it here.

So what does all of this mean for you and how do you teach a curriculum that has no curriculum? 

What this means is that YOU will teach your children based on your knowledge. Don't think you know enough about it all? Judah Bible Curriculum is designed to help you learn so that YOU CAN TEACH them.

JBC breaks the Bible into 5 themes:

then gives examples of how you can divide the "curriculum" across K-6th and/or 7th-12th. The scope & sequence offers a suggestion on the division. 

The main method of teaching/learning is by using the Notebook Approach. You & your child will create a notebook which includes verses, lessons, and notes based on the key themes. This is a wonderful, interactive way that your child will be able to see the lessons come alive and help him/her apply it to life.

There really is so much more to this. I encourage you to check out JBC's website where you will find descriptions and explanations about the Judah Bible Curriculum.

I really like the JBC. Though it is intense, and even a bit overwhelming at first, after reading through the manual, reviewing the website, and learning how to implement it, I can appreciate the value in it's entirety. I am considering using this to help teach Apologetics  to a few of my speech club students. The very essence of the JBC's philosophy shouts Apologetics to me and I am excited to take that step.

You can purchase the digital version of Judah Bible Curriculum for just $44. The hard copy version, direct to you, is $69 + s&h. Both versions will give you the curriculum K-12 manual, elementary notebook ideas, & the 8-lecture teaching training seminar. The difference? You will get the digital version immediately and the hard copy in about 1 week.

Disclaimer: I received the digital version free as a member of the TOS Homeschool Crew with the sole purpose of providing an honest review after using it. For more information on this, please see my disclaimer.

I love being a mom. The Lord has blessed me with 2 beautiful children and I am so thankful. I love being a wife and am thankful for that, too. I love that I can share the rest of my with the man I love, the man the Lord created me for. But sometimes it's not easy being a mom and wife. 


Sometimes I just don't know what to say or do. But The Lord is faithful and loving, and provided me, and you, with a way to know. If we use the guidance given to us in Proverbs 31, we will discover it all is possible.

The Lord has provided all of us with godly instructions to live our life & we do not have to go far to find them. We don't have to search the web for hours, or send out questions to forums seeking advice all we need to do is pick up our Bibles, and read. He has given us everything we need!

I want to share with you a free book. Courtney at Women Living Well Ministries is offering The Proverbs 31 Woman ebook free to all that sign up for her email updates. This book will help you to understand Proverbs 31 better.

Table of Contents

Is the Proverbs 31 Woman For Real?

How to be Treasure to Your Husband

Does Your Husband Trust You?

A Woman of Action

Working With Eager Hands

Shop to the Glory of God

The Proverbs 31 Woman Rises Very Early

Do You Have a Dream?

Vigorously Clean Your Home & Get a Bonus Workout

Burning the Midnight Oil

Mundane Tasks Are a Hidden Treasure

P.S. Your Hands Are Beautiful

Are You Prepared for the Weather Changes?

The Proverbs 31 Woman is Classy

Help Your Husband be a Man of Influence

Pursuing Excellence

Let Me Help You Pick Out Your Clothes

Putting Order on Your Tongue

Managing Our Time, Family and Home

What Do Your Children Think of You?

Be the Woman Your Man Needs

The Proverbs 31 Woman’s Beauty Secret

Pity or Praise the Proverbs 31 Woman?

Hurry on over to Women Living Well and get your free Proverbs 31 Woman eBook today.

I have been given the opportunity to read and review (and giveaway a copy) of The Forgiven Duke by Jamie Carie.

This wonderful book is due to be released in July of 2012 but it can be pre-ordered now through various vendors. Amazon has it for pre-order for $9.97.

The Forgiven Duke is the second book in the Forgotten Castles series. The series follows sleuth Lady Alexandria Featherstone as she travels through Ireland, Iceland, & Italy (in order of books) in search of her parents.  

What is The Forgiven Duke about? The publisher writes: 

"Tethered by her impulsive promise to marry Lord John Lemon - the path of least resistance - Alexandria Featherstone sets off toward Iceland in search of her parents with a leaden heart. A glimpse of her guardian, the Duke of St. Easton - the path less traveled by - on Dublin’s shore still haunts her. 

Will he come after her? Will he drag her back to London, quelling her mission to rescue her treasure-seeking parents, or might he decide to throw caution to the wind and choose Foy Pour Devoir: “Faith for Duty,” the St. Easton motto. The Featherstone motto Valens et Volens: “Willing and Able,” beats in her heart and thrums through her veins. She will find her parents and find their love, no matter the cost.

The powerful yet wing-clipped Duke of St. Easton has never known the challenge that has become his life since hearing his ward’s name. Alexandria Featherstone will be the life or the death of him. Only time and God’s plan will reveal just how much this man can endure for the prize of love."

The author: Jamie Carie is the daughter of a pastor and spent time as a child travelling with her father as he preached across Indiana. She learned about "creation and the fall, God and Jesus and the rapture, the earthly walk compared to the spiritual walk, and how we are born for more than what we can see." As she grew and then married, she used her knowledge and wrote her first book Snow Angel, that won USA Book News "Best Book 2007". She has since written several more books.

Jamie Caries words to her readers "Live the dreams God has destined for you." Nothing more can be added to that.

The Forgiven Duke is geared toward young adults, I think, or those that enjoy a romantic fictional story and have time to read : ^ )

Because I do not have a lot of time to read, this took me time to finish, but is worth the read. If you like romantic fiction with a few twists and turns thrown in, you will like The Forgiven Duke.

Now on to the giveaway! 

You can enter to win a Kindle Fire by clicking on over to Super Blake Books. 

The contest ends May 31, 2012.

You can earn multiple entries easily! 

The Kindle Fire retails for $199 at Amazon.

I have not contributed to this contest in any way. I am just sharing the information with you to give you the opportunity to enter. 

I'm so excited I finally figured out how to put Feedburner on my site! You can now sign up to receive email updates for any new posts. 

I'm looking forward to any and all new followers or previous followers looking for direct-to-you updates : ^ )