See the Light: Art Projects {Mosaic Review}

This product was a fun one for Unicorn. She had a great time (she actually did all 4 hour lessons in one sitting) and did it all by herself.

The product is Art Projects by See the Light, a Christian-based Art program. The project we reviewed was "Paper Jungle"

In a Nutshell:
~9 DVD's with 4 lessons each that lead to a culminating project
~$14.99/ea. OR $12.50/ea. as DVD of the month OR $99.99 for Boxed Set
~Each DVD teaches a different art style and artist
~Art Projects are designed to follow Art Class (a 9 volume-set of 36 Art Lessons)
~Earn 1/2 High School Fine Art credit if you complete all 9 DVD's and go on a couple field trips

 Our Thoughts:
As you can tell from the photos, Unicorn (13 years old) enjoyed this project. She had fun learning about layering and creating a foreground and background. I LOVED that she could pop in the DVD and do it all herself. We didn't have the exact sizes of paper that were on the materials list but it didn't matter...she was able to adapt the project and make it work. She even has plans to use the DVD to teach Monkey (5) and Ladybug (7) how to make a Paper Jungle. I would say that the only down-side is the price. Unless you buy the box-set and have multiple children that can use it, it is a little on the pricey side for me. However, I think the pros outweigh the cons for me!

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Wow...

I can't believe it has been over 2 months since my last post. 

I guess I will find out if any of you are still reading my blog after this post. ;)

We have had a good start to our school year. Monkey has finished All About Reading Pre-Reading and the preschool level of IXL math. Ladybug has finished All About Reading Level 1, All About Spelling Level 1,  IXL KG level and half of the 1st grade level and Happy Handwriting. Unicorn has a great start into her 7th grade year and is getting ready to start her 3rd year of NaNoWriMo.

The kids took a few days off of school the first week of October to go camping with Papa and Nana. They had a great time fishing, hiking, going on a scavenger hunt, painting rocks and checking out the Ranger Station and Fire Look-out Towers. When they got home Ladybug learned how to ride her bike. Once Ladybug figured it out then Unicorn decided to try to learn to ride her bike again. She has hydrocephalus and some issues with balance so that combined with a REALLY bad bike riding accident 5 years ago had her pretty scared of bike riding. I am happy to report that she has overcome that fear and is now a bike rider! :)

This month we are preparing for NaNoWriMo and studying Elections and doing some Art projects. Ladybug and Monkey also started a new spelling program (that we love) and I will be doing a review on it VERY soon. We also started a book club and have read Charlotte's Web and The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.

Origami pigs and clay spiders for Charlotte's Web

Unicorn's sidewalk chalk drawing for The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

Ladybug's sidewalk chalk drawing for The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

Next month we will study Thanksgiving and participate in NaNoWriMo. I hope you will check back soon for more reviews and an update on what we are learning!

TOS Review ~ Kinderbach (and coupon code)

My kids LOVE music. I would love to be able to give them private music lessons but that just isn't in the budget. As a member of the TOS  Crew I was given a 3 month online subscription to KinderBach. KinderBach is an online (or DVD) based piano curriculum for children ages 3-7 (although my 12 year old doesn't seem to mind watching it with her younger siblings)!KinderBach is set up with 4 weekly lessons. Currently they have 60 weeks worth of lessons. Each week there are a variety of activities as well. There is very little teacher prep...just print any needed activities, login (or pop in the DVD) and you are ready!Online lessons are $7.95 per month per family! DVD packages start at just $40.45! Click here to order! How about a coupon code to sweeten the deal? Just enter TOScrew2012 to receive 30% off your order (homeschool, classroom, online or DVD). The code is good until the end of 2012! 
You don't need an expensive piano or keyboard. Any keyboard (with at least 33 keys) will do. (HINT: Check ebay)!
Monkey and Ladybug really enjoyed the lessons! They ask to see Dodi (the main character) all the time. They are also retaining what they are learning! Unicorn also is learning and retaining the information but she is a little old for the program. Depending on the maturity of the child you could use KinderBach for children as old as 9 or 10 but I wouldn't purchase it just for them, I would only purchase it for them if there were younger siblings around to benefit as well or if they had special needs.
I think KinderBach is a great way to get some beginning piano lessons for my children while I determine if there is a desire among them for private lessons. It will also give me time to determine if we should be saving for a piano!

Click here to see what my Crew Mates think of KinderBach.
{Disclaimer: I received a 3 month subscription to KinderBach in exchange for my honest opinion. I received no other compensation and all opinions are my own.}

TOS Review ~ Maestro Classics

Do you struggle teaching music history and composers? I know I do. Maestro Classics may be an answer! Today I am reviewing The Story of Swan Lake CD from Maestro Classics. This has been a fun product to review. My children love music. They love singing, dancing and just listening to music. In a Nutshell~7 track CD or MP3~24 page activity booklet~website full of homeschool lesson plans~ages 6-12 (my 3 year-old LOVED the music...I would say the music is for families with lessons geared for ages 6-12)~$16.98/CD and $9.98/MP3~Maestro Classics Website/Contact Info.~Maestro Classics on Facebook (currently running a sweepstakes on FB ends Jan. 22, 2012)~Kids Club~Many other TitlesOur ThoughtsWe really enjoyed the music and the activities. Monkey and Ladybug would dance around the house and Ladybug and Unicorn would "act" out the story! It was a lot of fun. I really like that so many subjects are covered in the lesson guides. 
Click here to read what my Crew Mates thought about The Story of Swan Lake.
{Disclaimer: I received The Story of Swan Lake in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own and no other compensation was received.}

TOS Review ~ Artistic Pursuits

When given the opportunity to review Artistic Pursuits the question wasn't "should we or shouldn't we?" it was "which book should we choose"! I have been wanting to try their curriculum for some time now but I prefer to "try before you buy" anything that cost over $15. 

Since I have a preschooler, a kinder/1st grader and a 6th grader I choose to go with the Book One of the K-3 series. This was a perfect choice as the 6th grader has had very little exposure to art. 

In a Nutshell:

~Grades K-3 (but my 6th grader is loving it)

~$42.95

~3 sections: What Artists Do (10 lessons); What Artists See (7 lessons); Where We Find Art (15 lessons)

~88 pages

~Soft bound, printed on heavy-weight paper

~Little teacher prep

~Reusable

~Other products cover Preschool through High School

The book starts with a page on "how" to teach the lessons in the book. Then most lessons are 3 pages long. The first page is the explanation page (click on the image for more information). 

The second page show a piece of art and has questions to help students examine the artwork.

The third page gives an "assignment", a list of materials and a student example.

In addition to purchasing the book, you will need some art supplies. A Materials List is included in the front of each book and on the website. We searched around the house and found many of the supplies. We picked up additional supplies at a craft store. Materials are also available for purchase through the Artistic Pursuits website. The website is also full of additional supporting information. Click here for their contact information.

Pros:

~Very through

~Child friendly

~Well-written

~Lots of examples

~Covers art history, technique, and various styles and mediums

Cons:

~price $42.95

Click here to see what my Crew Mates are saying about this and other Artistic Pursuits products.

{Disclaimer: I received a copy of Artistic Pursuits K-3 Book One in exchange for my honest review. I received no other compensation and all opinions are my own.}

2010-2011 Curriculum (5th grade)

  

Well, here is our 5th grade curriculum for this year!

This is a very eclectic curriculum! These materials were chosen based on Unicorn's learning style, her ability level, affordability and the ability to reuse and adapt material for the younger children when they reach this level!

History, English and Science lesson plans are adapted from "The Four Year Plan - An Education Plan for LDS Families" by Kindred Learning.

History (US): A History of US: 11-Volume Set by Hakim Too much for Unicorn, we will be notebooking US History!
     -Movie List (most via Netflix): The Vikings (NOVA, 2000); The Sea Hawk (1940), Squanto, AWarrior's Tale; Drums along the Mohawk (1939); The Mouse on the Mayflower (1968); Ben and Me; Johnny Tremain; The Howards of Virginia; 1776; A More Perfect Union; Mr. Smith Goes to Washington; The Buccaneer (1958); Lewis & Clark: The Journey of the Corps of Discovery (PBS); Daniel Boone; Davy Crockett; Legacy; The Alamo; The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn; American Legends; Tall Tale: The Unbelievable Adventure (1995); The Mask of Zorro (1998); Sarah, Plain and Tall; The Civil War; Gone With the Wind; The Red Badge of Courage; An American Tail, Fieval Goes West; The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance; and Oklahoma.

English (Analysis and Opinion): Writers Express by Kemper, Nathan, Sebranek
     -Reading List:  The Sign of the Beaver (Speare); Ben and Me (Lawson); The Witch of Blackbird Pond (Speare); Johnny Tremain (Forbes); Will You Sign Here, John Hancock? (Fritz); Guns for General Washington (Reit); Shh! We're Writing the Constitution (Fritz); Rip Van Winkle (Irving); Caddie Woodlawn (Brink); Little House on the Prairie (Wilder); Sarah, Plain and Tall (MacLachlan); Across Five Aprils (Hunt); The Red Badge of Courage (Crane); and Shades of Gray (Reeder)

Science (Physics): Concepts and Challenges in Physical Science by Bernstein, Schachter, Winkler, and Wolfe; Physics for Every Kid: 101 Easy Experiments in Motion, Heat, Light, Machines, and Sound by Van Cleave; and How Science Works by Hann  Also, too much for Unicorn, we will be notebooking topics that are of interest to her!

Math: Math Mammoth by Maria Miller. Since this is where Unicorn struggles we have gone back to the beginning (she is currently in the 2nd semester of 1st grade) and she is going through the entire 1-8 curriculum at HER pace. The goal is to have her finish the entire curriculum before starting High School. Additionally, she is working through Dreambox.com which is a computer-based K-3 Math website. This is great because it adjust the level of difficulty based on her responses!

Spelling: Unicorn has been in charter schools using the Spalding Method of Phonics and Spelling. She is almost finished with the word lists. Once these lists are complete she will move on to BYU Independent Study Spelling and English courses.

Grammar: Grammarlogues

Typing: Sue Patrick (the author of the Workbox System) has a typing curriculum that is available if you purchase her ebook. This typing curriculum focuses on teaching finger placement. Unicorn will start with this curriculum and then move on to Type To Learn (TTL4) once finger placement is mastered.

Art: Unicorn will start by Discovering Great Artists and then she will move onto Artistic Pursuits.

Music: Unicorn will begin by learning about famous composers in Ah, Music!

Foreign Language: Daddy, Unicorn and I will all be learning Latin using Rosetta Stone!

PE: Various Activities including the WiiFit Plus, walking and playing!

Religion: Discover the Scriptures: Hands-on Church History vol. 1 - Restoration and Growth

Life Skills: We will also be learning how to cook, garden, sew, etc. These topics will be taught by mom, dad, and grandma (based on our talents and skills). We will also be using BYU Independent Study courses to assist in some of these areas.

As a Family: Each morning we will read scriptures, pray, work on memorizing a scripture, poem, or quote and have a read-aloud. We will continue reading The Magic Treehouse series. We will also try to have 1-2 Field Trips a month (click here for more info. on Field Trips).

Preschool: Ladybug and Monkey (and my other preschoolers) will be using Mother Goose Time and Signing Time as the main curriculum. I also supplement with the Spalding Method of Phonics and Spelling.

I realize this seems like a lot of stuff but, not all subjects will be taught each day!

We will be using Sue Patrick's Workbox System as a way of organizing daily lessons and as a means to help Unicorn become more self-sufficient. More on this to come!  :)