This photograph illustrates how desperately my girls long for Spring.
We live in the Midwest part of the country so it’s COLD right now…. but not this day in February. It’s in the upper 50’s and heading to the 60’s on this day.
The girls headed downstairs to the bin that contains their summer clothes and changed their clothes. They were wearing flip-flops until the snow froze their toes.
Assignment this week: Sketch something related to Disney.
This is M5’s sketch of Mickey (mom had to help with the ears.)
Next week’s assignment: Sketch a bird feeder, with or without birds.
Join us next week for Sketch Tuesday – details here on Barb’s blog Sketch Tuesday.
Kid Scoop’s RELUCTANT READER SOLUTION offers you and your kids a full year of fun-filled reading and writing activities !
It offers 365 days of Fun pages and a monthly digital newspaper called Kid Scoop.
Purpose of the Reluctant Reader Solution? Encourage your child or students to become enthusiastic, life-long readers by offering them interesting and engaging fun sheets to read.
Cost: $97.00
What does RR include? Access about 60 downloadable packets of worksheets and an online, colorful, 20 page newspaper - full of more fun reading and activities! Activities for a FULL YEAR!
What topics are covered for the year? There are about 60 worksheet topics like: Jack Frost, bubble gum, Owen and Mzee, State of the Union, Valentine’s Day, Germ Patrol, clay play, Mother’s Day, nutritional labels, smores, orcas, otters, Tom Sawyer, fitness, safety, gardening, Memorial Day, and many more!
5 to 7 pages of reading fun:
thinking skills, topical information,
games, puzzles, word searches,
coloring, charting, drawing steps,
writing fun, and more!
What does the on-line newspaper offer? Each monthly newspaper contains about 20 colorful pages of more fun. If offers an activity calendar, puzzles and brain teasers, ideas for parents and teachers, science fun, jokes, drawing instruction, cool links, art club, and more! Parents can view the online newspaper and print just what you and your child would like too.
Are you ready to check it out for your family? Kid Scoop Reluctant Reader Solution link here.
My thoughts? My girls enjoyed the program and so did I. Mini-units we used: bubble gum, Jack Frost, Valentine’s and Pencil Power pages. I spent a week going through the pages during our class time. They also colored the pages after school and in the evenings. Our family enjoyed the Reluctant Reader Solution but I believe we will use the fun sheets and newspaper more in the summer because they will not seem like school work but summer fun reading and activities. I believe the product benefits kids more when the are independent readers, which my girls are not.
How would I use the product? As a fun supplement. The topical mini-units can add a nice mix to your regular homeschool curriculum.
My girls are required to read for 15 minutes in the evening. As they are more independent readers, I would give them a fun sheet to read through and do the activities in bed during that week. Then during school time, I can ask them questions about what they read and review the fun facts. More information on how to use the RR in your home or classroom is listed here.
What else does Kid Scoop have to offer? Check out their website here
Check out what others on the TOS Homeschool CREW are saying about Kid Scoop Reluctant Reader here.
Disclaimer: I received this product free of charge for review purposes only. The opinions expressed are mine.
This week’s Winter Wednesday observations: Find weeds – observe their color, stem, shape, size, seeds and seed containers.
We collected twigs and weeds. Then we put them into ziplock bags.
Below are the pictures of the weeds. Can I identify them? Nope - but we had fun collecting, comparing and drawing them. The girls remembered what 2 of them looked like in the summer months too.
A7 and M5 – compared the weed and seeds with sketches…you will notice it was a little difficult for my scanner to scan the 3-D seeds and pods clearly.
The girls taped the weed, stem, seed pod and seeds onto their study pages, alongside of their sketches.
Don’t forget to drop by Barb’s Blog – Handbook of Nature Study to see what other’s have done with their Winter Wednesday “Winter Weeds and Seeds” studies.
Thank you for joining us for Sketch Tuesday each week (of should I say Wednesday this week).
The theme this week was to sketch something that .. “Grows on a Farm.”
M5 sketched this ….
Next week’s theme: Disney Time – check out Barb’s blog details here. Don’t forget to look and see what others have sketched this week.
What a busy two weeks we’ve had in My Father’s World Adventures!
My favorite part of the last two weeks has been the Bible lessons and history. So let me share our Bible time with you.
Bible: The names of Christ – Head of the Body
Who is the Head of the Body? Jesus
Who is the Body? US – that is if you are a believer.
Who is a believer?
YOU – if you have recognized your need for a Savior
YOU – if you have come to the foot of the Cross with EMPTY hands offering NOTHING but a humble heart in need of saving
YOU – if you have received the FREE GIFT He is offering you through His death and resurrection
YOU – can now stand up – knowing you are filled with the Holy Spirit – given a new body – you are NOW ALIVE in Christ
YOU – are a new creation – you are ALIVE and no longer dead in your sin
YOU – are destined for heaven not hell
YOU – can now be used by God – you have many GIFTS He gave you as He formed you in your mother’s womb
YOU – are not the majority of people you meet – most people are the Walking Dead – spiritually dead
YOU – must now go out and share the Good NEWS and use your God given gifts!
So now read with me Romans 12:4-8 “ … We all have gifts. They differ in keeping with the grace that God has given each of us…”
What are your gifts? What are your children’s gifts? Knowing your family’s gifts will give you opportunity to encourage them this week.
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History: We traveled through six more states: Illinois, Alabama, Maine, Missouri, Arkansas and Michigan.
We also read about how the pioneers traveled West by the Wagon Train, lived in covered wagons and endured hardships along the way. My girls enjoyed learning about the children but they are glad they have the comforts of home life today – and all of their toys of course!
Book Basket Favorites:
| Helen Keller | George Washington Carver |
| Keep the Lights Burning, Abbie | Island Boy |
Science: What better to learn about these two weeks as we study the Body of believers in our Bible studies than – our physical body. We briefly discussed: bones, muscles, digestion, the brain, senses, and taste. I plan to study each system in detail with our “Summer Science” co-op.
This is the a fun book to read to your kids this week.
It discusses the answers to some questions you may not know how to answer.
“Why does it not hurt when you cut your hair?” “Why do I get the hiccups? How do I get rid of them?” “Why do I have to get a shot?”
First Questions and Answers about the Human Body by Andrew Gutelle
Art: Join us each week for Barb’s Sketch Tuesday. This past weeks sketches here - Ships Ahoy!
Nature Study: Join us each week for our Winter Wednesday walks here.
Thanks for reading my weekly wrap up.
Head on over to 2 Ladybugs and A Lizard and see what’s going in MFW 1st Grade here.
This Old Schoolhouse has a new series called …. The Curiosity Files !
Each FUN unit study is for kids ages 8 – 13.
They are led by Professor Ana Lyze - Expert in Outlandish Oddities.
Unit studies like:
| Blue Diamond | Dung Beetle |
| Puffer Fish | MRSA |
| Quicksand | Red Tide |
| Zombie Fire Ants | Blue-Footed Booby |
| Cicada Killing Wasp |
Check out the list of Curiosity Files available from TOS Store here!
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As a member of TOS Review Crew – our family had the opportunity to review The Curiosity File: Dung Beetle
The Dung Beetle unit pages offer:
More on the Dung Beetle unit here.
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To get the best deal on The Curiosity Files, you have several options:
My thoughts:
Our family enjoyed The Curiosity File: Dung Beetle. It was an insect that I had not studied with the girls, even though we have studied insects for the last two summers.
I will incorporate the Curiosity unit studies two ways in our homeschool in the future: 1) to take a break from our current study and have fun learning about something strange and wacky (my kids love wacky and fun!) 2) definitely a summer unit since we school year round
I believe the units are age appropriate for any homeschool classroom, but definitely more useful for ages 8 and up. Plus they are very affordable.
I also like the variety of activities available in our Dung Beetle study. My girls are a little too young to fully benefit from the unit resources, like the grammar and writing activities, but they really enjoyed the information pages about the beetle and the discussion questions. We were amazed to learn the many benefits of a DUNG (poop) beetle. Wacky fun facts in our homeschool always excite the girls more when they get to share what they learn with dad in the evening.
Don’t forget to check out what others are saying about The Curiosity Files here!
Disclaimer: This product was given to me free of charge for review purposes only. The opinions expressed in this review are mine.
