History...Hated it in School...Love it in Homeschool

What is my favorite thing to teach my children? Hmm, that is a toughie. I honestly enjoy teaching my children so many things.

You know, in school I really didn't like any subjects. The only class I liked was typing. HA

Now that I am teaching my own kids, I find that I actually like a lot of things that I previously didn't like.

History is now one of my favorite subjects. I love teaching it to my kids, and learning about it myself.

I think the difference is in the way I teach it, as opposed to the way I was taught in public school. We have so much fun reading history books, and doing fun history projects.

I really like learning about how we became the nation we are today.

We usually teach history in unit study form, and I teach both of my kids at the same time. There is a big age difference, but the younger one just doesn't do as much as my older one does.

I also have books for both ages on the same subject. 

Recently we have been studying about Betsy Ross, and the revolutionary time period. OH, it has been a blast.

I think history is my favorite subject to teach, but, I am just starting to teach my son to read, and that is so much fun too!

It is awesome to be able to see your children learn to read, and to know that you taught them, not someone else.

It is such a joy to me to see my kids learning new things. It is a mother's joy to see her kids learning, and loving to learn.

I thank God for the ability to homeschool my children, and for the joy it is to teach them.

TOS Special Offer

 

Hey guys. I wanted to share some great offers from TOS with you. So read on below to find about about TOS's specials going on right now. 

"Have you heard about all the gifts we're giving away just for subscribing to our magazine?

Start enjoying a two-year subscription to a high-quality magazine packed full of insights from leading homeschool experts delivered right to your door. You’ll love flipping through nearly 200 PRINT pages of The Old Schoolhouse Magazine!

Subscribe Now and receive a plethora of gifts worth over $300!

You’ll receive hard copy books, DVDs, subscriptions to learning sites, CDs and more. CLICK HERE to see what we’ve got for you.

And hey, have you heard about our new subscriber-only benefit called the Teacher's Toolbox? This is ABOVE AND BEYOND the 19 free gifts you'll receive if you are within the first 5,000 two-year subscribers. Teacher's Toolbox is our brand new password-protected site which is FULL of resources for TOS subscribers only! Believe it or not, you'll also get ALL of our digital back-issues on this site! You'll be reading for WEEKS!

PLUS TOS is throwing in a 20th BONUS GIFT => a John Taylor Gatto E-Book entitled Hammering at the Walls of Public Schooling AND MP3 recording of him speaking on the topics of "Open Source Education" and "Everything You Know About Institutional Schooling is Wrong!

Get yours NOW before we sell out!

Don't miss your chance to get these 19 free gifts and access to our password-protected site stuffed full of educational material!

*The 19 Gifts Promo is open to U.S Subscribers only."

So hurry and get yours, so you don't miss out on this special.

Circle C Beginnings Books- Kregal Publications/ TOS Review

My family just read a book called Andi's Fair Surprise, from the Circle C Beginnings series.

Andi Carter is a six year old girl who lives on a cattle ranch.

This book is set in 1874, and the Carter family is going to the California state fair.

Everyone in the family is entering something in the fair, and Andi wants to enter something too.

She wants to enter her horse, Taffy, but everyone tells her she is too little. But Andi really wants to win a blue ribbon!

While at the fair, Andi wins a prize she can't keep, and learns a valuable lesson.

We really liked this book.  We read 2-3 chapters a day as a read aloud. It held my 6 year olds attention, which is remarkable without the book having a lot of pictures. It has a picture every few pages.

This chapter book has 74 pages, and is geared towards children ages 6-8, but even my 13 year old enjoyed listening to it. 

There were a few things that I didn't care for in this book. In a few instances Andi is not wanting to listen to her older siblings, and talks back, argues, and calls them names, such as mean and bossy.

I feel they could have kept the story line without the rebellion. 

That being said, it was not too bad, and mainly in the beginning, so we went ahead with the book, and we really enjoyed it.

I would consider reading the other books as well. If all of them have some of this same kind of attitude, I don't know that we would continue the series. But if it was just this one, we definitely would. 

Besides this one aspect, we really enjoyed this book.

I like the fact that there are several references to Jesus, and the Scripture. .

We thought maybe the family was homeschooled because there was no mention of school in this book, but one of the books in this series is called Andi's Scary School Days.

That was a bummer for me, because the author is actually a homeschool mom.

Now, I haven't read that particular book, so I have no idea if she stays in school, or is brought home, but I do not like my kids reading books where kids are going to school.

We feel that God has called parents to teach their children, and therefore I don't wanting them readng too many books where they are teaching that going to school is OK.

All in all, I would say that this was a good book, I really do wish the few rebellious parts were not there though.

If this kind of stuff doesn't bother you, then you will really enjoy this book. This was a wholesome book, and I didn't find anything inappropriate in it.

My 13 year old loved the fact that the book was set in the "olden days" and my 6 year old son really liked all the animals.




Something really cool that I wanted to share with you is the fact that there are free activity pages, and coloring pages, that you can download from their site, to go along with this book. 

There are also really cool online puzzles that your child can play with.

You can also purchase lapbooks that go along with the books.

You can find all of this and more on their website.

If you are interested in the Circle C Beginnings series, you can find them here.

They are very reasonably priced at $4.99 plus $2 S&H for one book, $9.98 plus $2 S&H for 2 books, or $15.96 plus $3 S&H for all four books!

You can read sample chapters on their website to see if you think your family would like these books.

I only reviewed one of the books from the series,  so be sure to read my fellow Crew Mate's reviews for their opinions on this book, and the rest of the series.

Have fun reading!

*I have received a copy of Andi's Fair Surprise, free, as a member of the TOS Homeschool Review Crew, in return for my honest opinion.

No other compensation has been given to me.*

Primary Arts of Language/ IEW

 

I am so excited! I just ordered Primary Arts of Language.

It is a reading program from IEW. Jill Pike is the author of the program.

I already love their writing programs for older children. 

My daughter uses the Student Writing Intensive, and she loves it.

I really think my son will enjoy this reading program. 

I have been looking for a reading program for a long, long time. I have just never found one that I thought would really fit us. 

This program uses poetry, as well as incorporates both phonics, and whole words.

I like that they use both, instead of only one. After all, we need both, don't we?

I just had to share my enthusiasm. I will let you know how we like it after we have used it for a while. 

If any of you have ever used it, I would love to hear your thoughts.

You can read my full review here.

Yesterday's Classics/ TOS Review

You've probably heard of Yesterday's Classics, but did you know that they now offer all of their books in e-book form?

Wait, it gets even better...You can now buy all 225 books in e-book form, for a fraction of the cost of purchasing them individually.

If you were to purchase all of Yesterday's Classics books in printed form, it would cost you $2,495.75.

If you were to purchase all 225 titles individually, in e-book form, it would cost you over $600.

If you purchase all 225 titles in one bundle, you can get them all for only $149.95!

That is crazy! That is such an awesome deal. But wait....if you order before May 31st, 2011, it will only cost you $99.95!

Can you imagine having all of Yesterday's Classics e-books! What a dream!

That's enough to make me go out and buy an e-reader! lol

I don't have one yet, but this definitely makes it seem worthwhile for me to get one. It is actually much cheaper to go out and buy an e-reader, and this whole set, than it would be to purchase them all individually. Even in e-book form.

I am definitely getting an e-reader as soon as I can. I am so thrilled to be able to have all of these books. 

I will now be able to have 225 of the best books around, and I will be able to take them all with me wherever I go. (As soon as I get an e-reader.) How cool is that?

Of course, you don't have to have an e-reader to use these e-books, you can also read them on your computer, and on your smart phone too, if you have one.

Honestly, if it were me, I would go ahead and buy the entire package during this sale, and then you would have them available to you if/when you do get an e-reader. Until then you could read them off of your computer, or your smart phone.

I love Yesterdays Classics books. I actually started collecting them a couple of years ago.

They take books that were first published from 1880-1920, and republish them in modern, easy to read print.

You are not likely to find some of the inappropriate things that you see in modern books today, in books from this time frame. (1880-1920)

We have many of these books on our bookshelves already.

Some of our favorites include:  

Here is a link to all of the books you will receive in this bundle.

So why in the world would you even want all of these e-books, you may ask?

Yesterday's Classics books are of great quality and content. I have read many of them, and they are some of the best living books you may ever find.

If you use the Charlotte Mason method of homeschooling, or if you just love to read good books to your children, you will love Yesterday's Classics books.

You will find no twaddle here.

Ambleside Online, Heart of Dakota, Living Books Curriculum, and Tapestry of Grace all use books that you will find through Yesterdays Classics.



If you have both a Kindle, and another type of e-reader, you can get download links to both with no extra charge.

If you are familiar with Yesterdays Classics, then you probably already know what a deal this is, but in case you are not, you can download The Dutch Twins, absolutely free, so that you can get a feel for these books.

I sincerely hope that you will consider this e-book bundle. Yesterdays Classics are truly some of the best quality books that I have ever read. Just so you know, you can purchase these e-books individually, I just think that it is a much better deal to purchase the bundle. It will save you tons of money. Happy reading!

Be sure to check out what my fellow Crew mates thought of Yesterday's Classics.

*I have received a PDF copy of the yesterdays Classics e-Book bundle, free, as a member of the TOS Homeschool Review Crew, in return for my honest opinion.

No other compensation has been given to me.*