learning

End of February: Update Feb 2018 {Thoughts From Me}

February 28, 2018 by Dana

I’ve contemplated what to write here for 15 minutes. Sometimes, you just don’t have anything to say. Silence is one of my favorite things. Sitting and listening to nothing but the breeze brings about a sense of peace and balance.

This was a busy month for us. First Mom’s birthday, then Valentine’s and then Emmalee’s birthday. It makes for a fun week.

This month also brought our first review for the Homeschool Review Crew. The curriculum we receive through them is always a blessing.

Several other reviews happened this month as well. I’m happy we are again in a place where I can provide those for our readers. We enjoy our reviews.

Emma has started diving into her own business of bracelets. You’ll see more about those soon. They will eventually be for sale. This has been a long time goal of hers. Art has her heart, and jewelry design does as well.

This month, I realized I had lost my camera charger somewhere on our travels. I was able to get a new one and look forward to working on imagery again. I mean, what was the purpose of my time in college if I’m not going to put it to use right?!

I started a book this month. You’ll see more to come on that soon as well. It’s a hard thing for me to announce and I’m almost fearful of it’s release but it’s been long in coming.

The kids are good. Our family is good. Life is good.

Life continues…

Until next time…

Dana Lambert-Hodge

10 Things to Do With Your Preschooler {Homeschooling}

February 22, 2018 by Dana

10 Things to Do With Your Preschooler:

1. Talk a walk.

We love long walks to see the world.

2. Grow flowers.

They are fun to watch grow and fun to pick when they bloom.

3. Play with blocks.

You can build a fort, or a castle, or a car track. Let your imagination go wild!

4. Play with cars.

When you finish building your block track, race a few cars along it.

5. Playdough

I was not a fan of playdough when my oldest kids were little but it’s since grown on me. Make animals, shapes, and other things your imagination comes up with.

6. Kick a ball.

My littles love to kick balls down the hallway or outside.

7. Dig a hole.

Dig and see what worms you find among other things. Make mud pies.

8. Wash toys.

We like to wash our toys. It teaches needed skills for homekeeping and is just plain fun.

9. Read a book.

Books help the mind to grow and helps your child open their imagination to a world of fun.

10. Build a fort.

Use chairs and a blanket to make a fort for your child to play beneath. Join in to see tons of smiles and happiness.

We hope this list gave you some great ideas to use with your preschoolers.

Until next time…
Dana

Lightning Literature {Crew Review}

June 29, 2017 by Dana

I’ve been looking for a good program to use for Literature with Laycie for a little while now but hadn’t been able to find anything. Homeschool Review Crew to the rescue! They had the perfect program at the perfect time.

I had heard of Lightning Literature from Hewitt Homeschooling over the years and always been told that it was a great program to use for literature and composition. I wasn’t aware just how great a program this product is though. For our review, we were sent the Grade 1 Lightning Lit Set.

The Grade 1 Lightning Lit Set includes the Teacher’s Guide by Elizabeth Kamath and the Student Workbook also by Elizabeth Kamath. Additional children’s books are needed for the course but these are easily obtained through your local library or through a local book retailer or even online.

I chose this level to use with Laycie since we are just moving forward into literature and this is the first time of us using a literature program with her. I was looking for something more structured but not so rigid that it made learning stressful for her. Lightning Literature surprisingly has been great for that.

This program allows for the fact that some first graders won’t be able to read the work or books provided. The goal is to provide a love of literature beginning at a young age. The program allows the child to dictate their answers so that they can have help to complete the exercises. The books used are classic children’s picture books with a few newer books also included to give a well-rounded example of good literature.

Every day there are activities to complete for the specific book that you read for the week. The first book is Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson. The activities change with the books.

Of course, this is a basic 5 day a week lesson set up for the program. The course teaches literature, grammar and mechanics and also composition. There are included Reading Journal pages, Dictionary pages, and Alphabet and Sentence pages. Aesop’s Fables are included on Day Four of this curriculum each week but these can be skipped if your child does not enjoy them. There are also lesson extensions shared to expand on the weekly lessons.

Break Down of Each Day’s Basic Set-Up

On Day One of the lesson, you read the book and answer comprehension questions specific to the book being covered. Grammar and Mechanics is covered with a quick multiple choice worksheet. Composition is covered as well on Day One.

Day Two leaves you with the decision to read the book again but preferably to have your child narrate the story by telling what they remember of it back to you. You can do this by looking at the book together and discussing it as you go. This is a great way to encourage reading.

Day Two’s workbook work covers Grammar and Mechanics by completing a worksheet specific to what the child is learning at the time through the course. This develops as they work through the program and learn. This day also includes the Reading Journal activity: the child can either write or dictate the sentences related to retelling the story. This particular part of the program is scheduled early in the week but can be moved to later in the week if preferred.

On Day Three, you and your child read the story again. This day has more comprehension questions to help your child discover even more about the story they are learning about. On this day, the dictionary pages are introduced for the week. for these pages you can choose words from the story or you can choose words from daily life. It’s up to you what words you chose for your student to learn. The longer sheets can be completed with assistance from the parent/teacher.

Composition is worked on daily with planning and on Day Three the work is put onto paper as a rough draft. This can also be done as dictation if needed. Whatever your child is ready to do.

Day Four introduces a new Aesop’s Fable each week. The Dover edition of this book is used or you can use a free one found online. These are random and shared for enjoyment of reading purposes mostly. Grammar activity is done on this day in relation to what’s being learned for that week. The composition final draft is also completed each week on Day Four.

Day Five is a free day or a catch up day if needed. It’s up to you how it’s used. This day could also be a day used to expand the lesson.

How We Used It:

This program is just awesome! I used it with Laycie but it also worked great with Jack too. As I read they both listened. Jackson wasn’t ready for the book work but because these books are common children’s books, I was able to find activities online to use with him outside of what the curriculum provided.

The workbook provided just enough work for Laycie yet it wasn’t overwhelming. This helped her writing skills and her storytelling and dictation skills as well. We worked together to write answers both with dictation and working on her writing skills.

We chose to read our story daily together. We also chose to do the weekly Aesop’s Fables and found additional activities to do online for that as well. It was great to have the workbook to follow and guide us in this curriculum.

Where Can You Get Lightning Literature:

You can find Lightning Literature in different levels at the Hewitt Homeschooling website. The price for the Grade 1 Lightning Lit Set is $88.11. The set includes the books mentioned above and Aesop’s Fables as well.

Hewitt Homeschooling on Social Media:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HewittHomeschooling Tag: @HewittHomeschooling

Twitter: https://twitter.com/hewittonline Tag: @HewittOnline

Pinterest: https://au.pinterest.com/hewittonline/ Tag: @hewittonline

Google+: https://plus.google.com/118179952485411291615

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Another Week Bites The Dust {Thoughts From Me}

June 10, 2017 by Dana

And another week bites the dust.

I’m totally off schedule. I feel behind in the plans I had. I need to set up a better plan to stay on track.

Emma is talking my head off. Distracting me from what I need to do but that’s okay because I don’t mind hearing her talk. She’s such a social creature.

Laycie is putting all her energy into learning about baby possums. She’s learned so much about them. Next week we will dive deeper into some lessons to learn a little more.

Winston has been working on his Minecraft game, mowing grass, building social skills. He’s ready for another Georgia trip. He had a lot of fun. I’m glad.

Jackson is busy busy. He’s learning big, little and middle in sizes. He’s learning that Daddy is big and Mommy is big and he is little. He’s learning colors like grey. He is counting to 10 on his own. He’s gaining new skills every day. He can balance on his head on the couch. And today he actually held the possum. He asked without prompting. I was totally proud of him.

So life is busy and unorganized right now but we’re working on it and we’re enjoying life together. Life is messy but joy overcomes the mess every day. So for now I’m living in the moment and letting life go as it will.

Until next time…

Dana

5 Days of Homeschooling With Epilepsy and Other Issues {Homeschooling} {Epilepsy Awareness}

April 12, 2017 by Dana

This year, I decided to join in with the Crew Blog Hop. The topic is 5 Days of Homeschool… Y’all know me well enough to know I chose 5 Days of Homeschooling with Epilepsy and Other Issues.

So ladies and gents, for the dates of April 17th through April 21st, we will be sharing the following posts with you.

1. Why We Chose to Homeschool

2. What Homeschooling Is Like For Us

3. Homeschooling On The Down Days

4. Homeschooling With Doctor’s Appointments

5. Overcoming Homeschooling Challenges

I look forward to sharing these topics with you soon and hope you enjoy this sneak peak into our days as well.

Don’t forget to check out the other Crew posts as well!

5 Days of Homeschool Annual Blog Hop - 2017

The Beginner’s Bible from Zonderkidz {Crew Review}

January 5, 2017 by Dana

For those who may have missed my announcement on Facebook last month, I’m happy to announce that I’ve rejoined the Homeschool Review Crew, a division of The Old Schoolhouse Magazine. I’ve greatly missed the crew, the amazing products, wonderful vendors and I’ve especially missed being able to share such wonderful products with you. So without further interruption, let’s get started with the first of many awesome products I’ll be reviewing this year and sharing here on the blog:

The Beginner’s Bible from Zonderkidz!

About the Review:
Zondervan is a company that has blessed our home for many years now. Zonderkidz is the kid’s department for Zondervan which provides quality educational and Biblical materials to use with your family at home. We have used and loved many of their products in our home for at least 16 years now, since the birth of my oldest son. So when the opportunity came to review The Beginner’s Bible from Zonderkidz, I immediately knew this was a review that I wanted to do.

About the Book:
The Beginner’s Bible is a story Bible that is filled with wonderful imagery. It includes 90 different Bible stories written for children to comprehend.

This is a Bible meant for small children, ages 6 and under who are just learning to read or who need help reading. It’s a wonderful read-aloud book or book to read with your child. It is definitely one of our family favorites.

The Beginner’s Bible was first released in 1989 and has sold over 25 million products. To me, that’s an amazing number. 27 years later, this wonderful Bible is still a wonderful addition to any family’s library.

Recently, Zonderkidz updated The Beginner’s Bible to include new 3D full color illustrations in bright vibrant colors. This really makes the stories come to life. The images really pop off the pages with this new artwork style.

The Beginner’s Bible also features large, easy to read font. This is perfect for younger children who often become anxious with smaller print. It wasn’t too bad for this Momma either, as sometimes reading stories in small print can be hard to keep up with when you’re holding a small child.

The Beginner’s Bible is 512 pages in length. These pages are now glossy whereas the older versions of The Beginner’s Bible had matte paper pages, which is sometimes difficult to keep clean with small hands. The pages are still paper but the glossy finish does allow for light wiping that could not be managed before. This was a change that I was happy to see!

Included in the front of The Beginner’s Bible is a Dedication page where you can write in your child’s name so they know this Bible is just for them. There is also a Table of Contents included behind the Dedication page to help you locate favorite Bible stories.

The first part of the book begins in the Old Testament just like an adult Bible would, starting with Genesis’ The Beginning and ending with Jonah and the Big Fish. The New Testament is also included, beginning with An Angel Visits Mary and ending with Jesus Is Coming! At the very back of the book there is also included a brief dictionary to help explain some of the important Biblical words your child may not know.

How We Used The Product In Our Home:The Beginner’s Bible was easily adapted into our family’s day to day routine. I’m lucky to have two little readers who enjoy looking at pictures and discussing what they see. They enjoy reading Bible stories so they were very excited to have a new copy of The Beginner’s Bible to share and read together.

We read our copy of The Beginner’s Bible as a bed-time story to start out but that didn’t last long, as both my younger children begged to hear more throughout the day. They also requested on several times to have their siblings read to them, which is great practice for the older two in reading aloud. We found this book quickly became an important part of our day to day.

Jack really loved this BIG FISH!

With Jackson, who is four and just learning that letters make words and words have meaning, we sat together and looked over many of the pictures inside The Beginner’s Bible one on one. We also read some of the stories, varied throughout the book as he choose which ones interested him the most. We discussed who Jesus was and is after finding his picture on the last story page of the book. But overall, Jack’s favorite story was Jonah and the Big Fish because Jack’s world is all about fish and dinosaurs right now. He loves all fish stories so I was thrilled to share this one with him.

With Laycie, who is 8 but mildly delayed in her learning due to her health, we read our copy of The Beginner’s Bible together. She chose to read more of the book in order, as she prefers things to follow from beginning to end. She read the words she knew and I helped her decipher many of the words she didn’t know. We discussed the images that went along with the stories, taking note of the importance in each image that went along with each story we read. She really loved all the stories and didn’t have an absolute favorite.

I often found her with our copy of The Beginner’s Bible, reading it to her dolls and sharing God’s word with her siblings when we weren’t reading it together. This warmed my heart to know how special The Beginner’s Bible became to her so quickly. I know it will continue to do so in the future.

How You Can Obtain This Item:
The Beginner’s Bible is available from Zonderkidz. It is currently priced at $16.99. You can purchase The Beginner’s Bible online at the Zonderkidz/Zondervan website.

Places To Find The Vendor Online:Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Zonderkidz/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/zonderkidz

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/zondervan

Pinterest: https://pinterest.com/zondervanp/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zondervan/

You Can Read More Reviews Of This Product/Vendor At:

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