Thankful Thursdays - 8/7/14 - The Great Indiana State Fair

We are thankful for how often we get to take field trips!

Last Friday was opening day of the Indiana State Fair. Kurt had the day off, and Arlene was going to model her outfit for the 4-H Fashion Revue, so Emily & I packed the cooler full of food and we all headed off to the State Fairgrounds in Indianapolis. (While we love fair food, we limit our expenditures by taking sandwiches, and munchies for the trip home.)


We started off going to see the girls' projects that are on exhibit in the 4-H buildings, then we headed over for Arlene's category in the 4-H Fashion Revue.

Once done at Fashion Revue, we headed to the car for those sandwiches. It was great timing because it started to rain just after we got to the car. So we ate in the car while waiting out the 15 minute shower. 

Then on to some of the rest of the fair. We visited friends who were showing their 4-H llamas, then we headed over to the Dairy Bar for ice cream - yum!

The Horticulture building always has some of the best of the best, Look at the size of this dahlia! (I have large hands for a girl, so that can give you an estimate.) 

The Horticulture building was also hosting a Bonsai competition - cool!

A walk past the Midway brought us to a perennial favorite, the DNR building. Fish, forestry, and a little archery practice . . . they can all be found in the DNR building or its gardens. One of the best parts - the butterfly garden!

One year when the girls were still really little (a long, long time ago,) we stumbled upon the Pathway to Water Quality. Now it's an annual stop to fill up our water bottles with well water.

Arlene was trying to keep her stack of free back issues of Outdoor Indiana from the DNR building dry, so Emily filled the water bottles.

We only visited a small fraction of all there is to see and do at the Indiana State Fair, but we have a plan. We're going again next week! We finished up Friday's visit with a free concert by Beatles tribute band BritBeat in the newly renovated Coliseum. It was a great show, and the Coliseum looks terrific.

We had plenty of reasons to be thankful! 

The Indiana State Fair runs through August 17th, why not plan a trip of your own? 

Roman Roads Media - Economics for Everybody Curriculum - a Crew Review

Quite often in the world of reviewing, we are given one choice - review item A - or don't. This review from Roman Roads Media included a plethora of choices, which made it hard to choose just one item to request. You may have heard of Roman Roads Media before. They have a lot of great resources to choose from, like Old Western Culture (The Greeks or The Romans,) Visual Latin, and Dave Raymond's American History I and II just to name a few. After watching oodles of intro videos on their website, Emily and I asked to be able to review their Economics for Everybody Curriculum. It has been a big hit in our house! When you're done reading our review, I encourage you to click on the Schoolhouse Review Crew banner at the bottom and go read about some of their other great products.




Economics for Everybody Curriculum is a solid, Biblically based explanation of economics, that includes 12 video lessons and a 236 page study guide. For the review, we received the downloadable form of the video lessons, and a PDF of the study guide. The course is also available as 2 DVD's and a printed study guide. The downloadable format costs $36, while the DVD version costs $45 (plus shipping.) This course can be used by families, small groups, or co-ops where the members are 6th grade (around age 12) and older. 


 In the study guide you will find an introduction to the course that suggests how to divide the work to be done based upon the type of group that is using it, and the ages of the members. Thus, if your teens are going to use it for High School credit, they will probably need to select books from the 'List of Additional Resources' pages to read. Understand that this course IS a complete course on economics, but I would recommend you have your teens read at least one of the additional books to expand their understanding of just how much economics affects all parts of our lives. Since we did this review in the Summer, Emily (age 16) didn't have to complete an additional book while we were reviewing, but she will be reading more this Fall as we continue the course since Economics IS a state required course here in Indiana. I had recently read one of the recommended books, so I didn't do any additional reading during our review period. If you are using this course for a small group study, read through the suggestions and let the group decide if/ when they want to use any additional resources.

The study guide could teach you all that is contained in the videos (since it has a detailed outline of each video,) but you would miss out on all the fun 'shorts' included in the teaching videos. Your teacher for this course is R.C. Sproul, Jr. He includes a lot of humorous and/ or instructive shorts (like Charlie Chaplin) and videos of his family doing an activity (like washing the dishes or purchasing yarn) to illustrate his points. Both of the girls laughed at some of the videos (even though Arlene, age 14 claimed she wasn't ready to learn about economics yet!)

I appreciated the way that Mr. Sproul uses passages from the Bible to help explain the basic principles of Economics. With lesson titles like "And God Created Economics," "The Economic Problem of Sin," or "The Route From Scarcity to Plenty" you can imagine there is a lot of Bible teaching going on in this course, and you would be correct! As a Christian, I find this refreshing and encouraging. What is the use in teaching our children about economics if they're not understanding why it is important? We need to have a goal in mind for our family. Our family's goal with learning about economics is to better steward the resources God has given us. In lesson One "And God Created Economics" you both hear and read this definition: Economics is man making choices as to how to best use his limited resources in order to be a good steward before God.

Each lesson builds upon what you have previously learned. Now that we are about halfway through, Emily has a good grasp on basic economics principles, and I have had a refresher course (taught from a Biblical perspective, not a materialistic one.) Kurt watched one of the early videos with us and was impressed with the quality of the teaching. If you choose the downloadable version, know that you can either stream the videos, or download and save them for later viewing. We chose to download and save them to my computer. At times, it seemed like everybody in the house wanted on the internet for something at the same time that we were trying to watch a video. That can put a strain on even the best DSL connection, so I found I preferred having them already downloaded so I didn't run into a buffering issue. 

We chose to view the study guide on the computer instead of printing it out. 236 pages is a lot of ink! Each chapter in the study guide begins with suggested Scripture readings, lesson objectives, and a quote about economics. Then comes the detailed outline of the video. After the outline comes multiple choice, short answer, and discussion questions all related to what was just covered. Even if you had a High School aged independent learner, they would still need help from someone to 'discuss' the last set of questions.

There is nothing to keep you from watching these videos as a family. There is nothing inappropriate for younger children, they just probably won't understand some of the concepts. This course can lead to a lot of great discussions even after the lesson questions. Emily is learning to evaluate everyday actions in light of their economics impact. I think she better understands now why we often bake our own bread, and save the $ to spend on other items (like field trips!) It doesn't take much time or many resources for one of us to make a loaf of bread, and when you figure we can easily spend $16 or more a month on bread... see my point? In the past, Emily didn't understand it very well, but now she does. 

If you are a plan-ahead type (A) person, you can read through the outline before you watch the videos. We aren't and we didn't. We watched the video, then we answered the questions. If your student needs to keep a record for their portfolio for an annual review or evaluation in your state, you could easily just print out the pages with the questions for each lesson, and have them write out their answers instead of doing it orally.

Overall we really liked the Economics for Everybody Curriculum. Emily did point out that by lesson 5, the video clips are sometimes more modern (from the 1970's as opposed to the 1920's and 40's.) Don't worry, there are still a lot of silent film/ Charlie Chaplin clips used to illustrate Mr. Sproul's points in each lesson.

This course would make an excellent homeschool curriculum, as well as be beneficial for families and small groups. If you are mentoring a younger family (especially one that wants to know why they should stick to a budget) this would be helpful for them as well. 

If we are good stewards of what God has entrusted to us, we can better use HIS resources to help spread the Gospel. If it's time to get your family in line with solid, Biblical economic principles, click on over and order your copy now. I think you'll be glad you did!

If you're looking for other resources from Roman Roads Media, click the banner below to learn more about great Classical Christian education options! If you would like to follow Roman Roads Media on social media, here are their links:
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Friday!

Thankful Thursdays - 7/31/2014 - A Clean House

Today I am thankful for a clean house. Yesterday I needed to work for several hours, and I left the girls with these instructions: Clean the house like I would clean it if I were here. I think you know what I mean, the level of cleaning that our house needed was more than just picking up, it was the works.

I am happy to say that they did a great job! So today, I am thankful for our clean house! Now I might have time to clean off my desk. Stay tuned to find out if I actually get that done.

Have a great weekend!

Hewitt Homeschooling -A Crew Review of Lightning Literature -American Mid-Late 19th Century

Every once in a while, an opportunity comes along with the Schoolhouse Review Crew that you know you should take, because while it may not ever be your absolute favorite, it is from a solid company. That was the case with our review of Hewitt Homeschooling's Lightning Literature and Composition, American Mid-Late 19th Century Student's Guide and Teacher's Guide. Arlene will be in 9th grade this Fall, and I wanted her to get some experience with answering comprehension questions, not just telling me orally about what she had read. Each year I have tried to offer Arlene a new way of approaching Literature so that hopefully she will be well-read and able to converse on a variety of classic books and topics as she gets older.

A while back, Emily and I reviewed another Lightning Lit course, so I knew what to expect from both the Student and Teacher Guides. The Student Guides always begin with an Introduction, the one in Arlene's book is 24 pages. It covers A LOT of topics, including how and why to read and write, how reading poetry is different than prose, basics on writing a paper, and how to use the Guide to get the most out of it. This American Literature course covers several well known authors, including Harriet Beecher Stowe (Uncle Tom's Cabin,) Mark Twain (Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,) and Jack London (The Call of the Wild.) It also covers several poets including Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson. The text of the poems and short story covered in the course are included in the Student Guide, you'll need to procure your own copies of the novels. Hewitt Homeschool has them all available for purchase separately, or you can borrow them from your local library. The Student Guide retails for $29.95, while the Teacher's Guide retails for $2.95. The Student Guide is an 160+ page 8&1/2 x 11" paperback, while the Teacher's Guide is 44 pages 3-hole punched  (stapled together) that includes the answers to the comprehension questions and teaching and grading aids.


 For each of the novels in the course, the Student's Guide has an introduction to the book and author, comprehension questions for each group of 5 chapters, a Literary Lesson (Theme, Humor, Figurative Language, etc.) and then Writing Exercises related to the novel you just finished (or comparing it to a previous novel in the course.) The poetry and short story units are similar, although with a lot less comprehension questions.

Overall, Lightening Literature's courses provide a solid framework for your student to work through a semester of Literature for High School. There is also included a year-long schedule in each book. Because we plan on doing some grammar with Arlene this next school year as well, Arlene will probably continue on using the year-long schedule. I think Arlene appreciates the variety of short-answer and multiple choice comprehension questions. I should have told her to write her answers in another notebook, but she managed to fit them into the small spaces on the pages. Maybe not the wisest choice, but there's still time for her to switch to a notebook for the other titles after Uncle Tom's Cabin.

One thing I have always liked about Lightning Literature's courses - they are independent study style. Of course I discuss with Arlene what she read, but for the most part, she can just grab her book and her guide and go do most of it on her own. For a Mom who is always time-crunched between homeschooling, working, and our family's volunteering schedule - this is a real plus!




One thing I want to mention is that Hewitt Homeschooling's Lightning Literature courses are worldview neutral. I can understand them wanting to make their products available to a wide market, but I also want you to understand that if you are wanting to discuss the reading selections from a Christian Worldview, you are going to need to add that in yourself. This particular title is geared for 9th grade and above. Although this is recommended for grades 9-12, because of the topics covered in Uncle Tom's Cabin and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, I would NOT recommend it for anyone younger than 14. (I know sometimes students have skipped a grade or started school at an early age, so I just want to point out the maturity level I think is needed.) Hewitt Homeschooling has titles available from first grade through 12th grade, so if this one doesn't fit your student's range, be sure to click the banner below and read the Crew Reviews of several of their other titles.

Analytical Grammar - A Crew Review

If you’re wondering whether or not it is important to teach your child grammar, I’ll answer you with one word - YES! How you teach grammar can vary widely, but I think we all want to spend our time wisely. I detested the thought of spending time every year teaching our girls grammar, so I was always on the lookout for something that could help them learn grammar and retain it for future use. When they were little it was easy, just pop in the Grammar Rock DVD and watch it. As they got older, that wasn’t enough and we tried a couple different programs. Now Emily is half-way through High School and I realized there were things she really needed to brush up on before taking those standardized tests hoping for scholarships. I also wanted her to have a quality refresher course before writing all of those scholarship essays. Whether or not your child is planning on pursuing a college degree, I think you should take a good look at Analytical Grammar. Emily and I have been blessed to review their flagship product the Set of Analytical Grammar, which includes both a Teacher’s Book and a Student Book. Trust me, you’re going to want the Teacher’s Book!

Robin Finley created Analytical Grammar and tested it out in her classroom for twelve years  making adjustments along the way before its first publication. I will say this is a thorough, solid, step-by-step approach to grammar. I’ll be honest, I had grammar in 6th grade. The only times I’ve diagrammed a sentence since then were while translating English to German in High School, and more recently English-Latin and back again. That does not mean it isn’t important to learn to diagram a sentence, it just means I don’t usually need to when proofreading. 

Grammar is more than diagramming sentences, as you’ll learn inside the pages of Analytical Grammar (AG.) This book is designed up to be used over three school years, but not for all year long, just part of each year. You could begin using AG in 6th grade and use it 6th, 7th, & 8th…or anytime after that. To keep your student’s skills sharp, AG offers four different review and reinforcement books ($19.95 each) to work on once every two weeks during High School. If your student doesn’t begin AG until their  Junior or Senior year of High School, you can skip the extra books and just focus on the AG Student Book.

The Set of Analytical Grammar costs $94.95. If you are going to use it with more than one student you must purchase additional Student Workbooks at $49.95 each. While I know some people may think the Set cost of $94.95 pricey, you will really appreciate all that you get in the Teacher’s Book and be thankful you spent the money. Not everything in grammar is easy . . .  when is the last time you picked out a gerund? Like I mentioned earlier, it’s been a long time since I did much sentence diagramming, so it’s wonderful to have Mrs. Finley’s step-by-step instructions with me when explaining it to Emily. 

Notice the bottom line? It's from the Teacher's Manual! So unless you want to do every marking and diagramming exercise yourself - buy it!

One point I liked a lot about AG is that in the beginning it starts, well, at the beginning. Some grammar programs I have seen throw too much at the student in the first week and expect them to absorb it all. In the Teacher’s Book, Mrs. Finley shares suggestions for grading your student’s assignments that include just focusing on what they got correct, and ignoring what they missed, or mis-marked. Beginning with Nouns, Articles, and Adjectives, Season One (year one) includes 10 units and ends with Conjunctions and Compound Situations. As each lesson proceeds, it reviews what the student has already learned and adds something new. Thus, you’re always marking the nouns, but you’re not marking verbs until Unit 4. Make sense? Seasons Two and Three go deeper into Grammar and include topics like participial phrases, adverb clauses, and transitive/intransitive verbs.

A unique feature (probably born from Mrs. Finley’s years in the classroom) is the teaching of overcoming common errors. How many times have you stopped and wondered “Who” or “Whom?” If you don’t think this is necessary to learn, may I point out to you that Weird Al Yankovic just released a hilarious parody about “Word Crimes” and he pointed out this error. While I know Weird Al is probably not your definitive source on what is socially appropriate grammar, if he is pointing it out, I will guess employers are noticing it at job interviews too!

So how does AG work exactly? You (the teacher/ parent) introduces each concept (reading the instructions) then you work on the first example or two WITH your student. Then the student does a page of exercises by themselves (referring back to the instructions, which are also in their book, as necessary.) Then you grade their exercises. If you see anything they are really struggling with you can talk about it right then. Tomorrow your student will have another page of exercises on the same topic. The third day your student will have a third page of exercises, then there is a Skills Support page. This Skill Support continues for the first ten Units (year one.) Then comes the test. It can be an open note test. Mrs. Finney also gives suggestions about having your older students ‘test out’ of an unit if you think they might not need to review/ learn the topic covered. If they score an 80% or higher, feel free to move on.

This is the Skill Support page from Unit 2, notice how Emily marked the nouns, pronouns,  and articles? (You can't see the adjectives in this shot.) Then she paraphrased the passage. I'm not worried that she missed a couple words she should have marked, as she worked through each unit, she got better at recognizing and marking her parts of speech. 

While normally I would have had Emily try to test out of the beginning units, I wanted to see how the 5 day cycle suggested in the book worked, so she did every exercise. This is not an independent study course. I guess you could try to use it that way, but I really think your student will do better spending the time with you as the teacher, than trying to learn it themselves! Please don't make them learn Grammar by themselves - how boring and frustrating that would be. Don’t worry - the Teacher’s Book is excellent, and you’re really only talking about 20 minutes a day. Think about that, 20 minutes a day, for parts of 3 years. You know your child is worth that investment! While studying grammar is rarely thrilling, these books are a lot less painful than those blue grammar books we used when I was growing up. 

I encourage you to check out Analytical Grammar’s website, and read through the “How it Works” and “FAQ” pages for more on the technical side of AG. For us, Analytical Grammar has been a painless way to make sure Emily has a solid footing for the rest of her writing years!

Feel free to stop by AG's Facebook page, or visit in person with Robin Finley and her daughter Erin Karl at your local homeschool convention. I had the chance to sit down and talk about Analytical Grammar with them this past April at our convention - they're a hoot!

Thankful Thursdays - 7/24/2014 - Symphony on the Prairie

As a volunteer at Conner Prairie, I am thankful for the opportunity to work during the ISO's (Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra) Symphony on the Prairie series each summer. While the musical genre and the weather change each weekend, the joy of an outdoor concert does not diminish (except for the occasional cancellation due to a thunderstorm!)

There are several things I'm thankful for about the Symphony on the Prairie (SOP.) First- it's outdoors, in a lovely setting. The Symphony platform is near the base of a natural amphitheater on Conner Prairie's grounds. Next, SOP is a come as you are event, no dressing up or over-priced garage parking required. You can dress up if you want to, but most people come in their everyday attire and bring a picnic dinner to enjoy before or during the Symphony.

Third reason I'm thankful? While the ISO performs during the first half of the series each Summer, they contract outside bands and groups to perform several weekends each season. That gives us a variety of entertainment. When Kurt or I volunteer, we earn free tickets for another SOP concert, so we can enjoy a concert with our girls or friends. We have heard several great groups in the past couple years. We have heard the ISO perform Rachmaninoff, Vivaldi, Gershwin, and Tchaikovsky as well as more modern tunes like John Williams' movie music, and the music of Queen. Other great performances we have seen at SOP include Classical Mystery Tour (Beatles tribute,) Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, and the River City Brass Band. Later this Summer we are all looking forward to hearing the Glenn Miller Orchestra and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band.

While this may already seem enough reasons to be thankful, here's one more. The view behind the Symphony bandstand at sunset.

Because this is an outdoor venue, there is no need to stay in your seat. You can feel free to leave your lawn chair for a while and go enjoy the sunset, or even venture down in front of the Symphony bandshell, where you will often find the dance floor set up for Jazz group performances. The girls know several people who like to Swing dance during the concerts. 

Whether I'm working, or just attending as a patron, Symphony on the Prairie gives me many reasons to be thankful! It also gives me hours of time to simply relax and enjoy the music! 

Why not join us and enjoy the music? You can click here to see the rest of this season's concerts.