I Choose Joy!

for the joy of the Lord is my strength in home, in family, in homeschool

Review of Analytical Grammar

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[Today's review of Analytical Grammar was written by contributor Michelle Habrych.] Teaching grammar to your kids can be difficult if you don’t know where to begin. Often we piece together grammar lessons, not teaching in any real sequence. We may even start to wonder “What’s the point?” After … [Read more...]

5 Wonderful Benefits of Using Online Learning to do Early Math

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I love doing natural "living" math with my youngest kids. I have rarely used an actual math curriculum all year long with them. But there are times when it's also great to give them something from a real math curriculum. That's what I've been doing with my 6-year-old (almost 7) this summer. Here … [Read more...]

Want Your Kids to Learn Math Fast and Well?

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Do you want your kids to learn math fast and well? So do I! Unfortunately, several of them weren't. We go through the math curriculum, but at the end of the year, some are still slow, make many mistakes, and don't completely understand every concept. That's why I was thrilled to start using … [Read more...]

R.E.A.D. Ready, Eager, Able and Determined to Read curriculum for my daughter

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New Product from The Crafty Classroom I just started a new new reading curriculum with my youngest daughter. She already knows her letters and the basic sound of each, so it's time to start some reading lessons. I wasn't wanting to do the full-blown phonics lessons that I always do with my kids … [Read more...]

100+ Easy and Fun Creative Nature Walks

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From the first moment I learned about Charlotte Mason, I have wanted to incorporate nature walks in my homeschool. But I would get in a rut and never could think of anything new to do. Imagine my thrill to find Cindy West's book 100+ Easy and Fun Creative Nature Walks! What I love about this … [Read more...]

Review: Cobblestone Path Church History Research Journal

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I have the blessing to share with you today a review of the Cobblestone Path Church History Research Journal for the years of the Apostolic and Early Church Ages of c. 30-325 A.D. by Danika Cooley. There are 8 Church History Research Journals available which begin with the one I'm reviewing today … [Read more...]

Online Unit Studies–You will LOVE these!

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Ok, I'll tell you the truth. I didn't think I'd find anything new in homeschooling. I though I had seen it all in my last 15 years. But, Beth Napoli of Loving Learning Freely has come up with something new! It's a unit study that is done (almost) completely online and are aptly named Online Unit … [Read more...]

Take Your Kids to Grammar Galaxy–the Easy and Fun Way to Do Language Arts!

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Look! It's my 2 precious cuties in the graphic above! My dear friend Melanie Wilson has just released the first volume of her Grammar Galaxy language arts series. (Update: She also has Volume 2 available and is working on Volume 3!) We were blessed to have had advanced copies which we worked on … [Read more...]

Review: Times Tales DVD to learn times tables fast!

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Times Tales I am reviewing an incredible educational DVD today! It's called Times Tales from Trigger Memory Systems. My kids- ages 5, 7, 9, and 10- watched it twice and now know Part 1 of the upper times tables! The way it works is this. There are stories for each equation (3x7, 8x4, 9x6, etc.) … [Read more...]

Curriculum Review: IEW The Phonetic Zoo

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Today's review is of a spelling curriculum from Institute for Excellence in Writing called The Phonetic Zoo Spelling Level B [Starter Set].   The first part of the program is for the mom or teacher to watch the video "Spelling and the Brain," which is an hour-long workshop presented by … [Read more...]

Review: Foreign Languages for Kids By Kids~ Spanish

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I'm so excited to share about our awesome new Spanish curriculum: Foreign Languages for Kids by Kids. It's the only subject that EVERY DAY my kids say, "Can we do it?" What makes it so great? The kids are learning through an immersion approach from videos of kids acting out stories. You can … [Read more...]

Curriculum Review: Middlebury German for High School

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Today I'm happy to review an online foreign language course from Middlebury Interactive Languages. There are Middlebury German Courses for Elementary, Middle School, and High School. We specifically used High School German I, first semester. This course is completely online. (They also have a … [Read more...]

Review: YWAM Publishing book about Milton Hershey

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My daughter and I have recently had the chance to review the paperback book Milton Hershey: More Than Chocolate from the Heroes of History series by YWAM Publishing and the Unit Study Curriculum Guide on CD-Rom. I have read numerous YWAM books throughout my homeschool years and have loved … [Read more...]

Review: Home School in the Woods Ancient Egypt study

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What a privilege is has been to review the Home School in the Woods Project Passport World History Study: Ancient Egypt these past few weeks. The Project Passport Ancient Egypt study is a digital download and there were pages that I printed for our use. I also downloaded a set of MP3s that were … [Read more...]