Thursday, October 30, 2014

Promoting VBS at Trunk-A-Treat


     Last year during a VBS clinic for Agency D3, I learned of a great idea about using Trunk-a-Treat as a creative way to promote your church's VBS.  (Last year's spy theme would have made a great trunk!)  The idea is simply to decorate your trunk in the theme of the upcoming VBS theme your church will participate in the upcoming summer.  Hand out "Save the Date" cards for your church's VBS. This year, I decided to try it! 


     Lifeway's VBS theme for this year is Journey Off the Map.  (Think Swiss Family Robinson.) There were no posters to be found, so I made my own with a transparency and overhead projector.  I covered my back seat with burlap, added tree branches and a walking stick.  Hanging from the van are fireflies.  We tried putting glow sticks inside, but it didn't show up too well.  I got the idea from Pinterest.  My dad had made a really cool shellacked stump, so that is what the candy is sitting on.  We handed out invitations for our VBS coming this summer.  

Once made, they can be saved each year and then a new glow stick can be added inside. The kids love flying these around the yard at night!  Could be a fun camping craft 

As a bonus....now I've got props ready for the VBS clinics I'll be teaching this winter/spring as well as for my VBS classroom!

Tuesday, October 28, 2014

TOS Review: New Liberty Videos (Warriors of Honor)


New Liberty Videos Review
 
           When you hear the names "Robert E. Lee" and "Stonewall Jackson," what first comes to mind?  It will likely be something different once you and your family view the Warriors of Honor DVD by New Liberty Videos.  The Warriors of Honor DVD is a documentary covering the lives of Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson, highlighting their deep Christian faith lived out during the Civil War.  The film is 80 minutes long. (There are also 3 bonus segments on varying topics. The total time of the bonus topics is 21 minutes.) It covers background for both men. It shares about their family life: their wives and their children. It covers many of the battles of the war, a few of which were new to me.  It shares about their relationship with their soldiers.  Lee's life post-war is told about. Their deaths are also covered by the video.
     The film includes both pictures, reenactments and historians talking.  There is such variety, the documentary never feels stale.  The film was set up so that both Lee and Jackson were woven throughout.  It did not feel choppy.  
     My favorite parts were those that told of specific times and places. It was wonderful to hear of the heroism and humility of Lee and Jackson. The character of these men was truly incredible.  A secondary theme of this film was that of redeeming the reputation of the South.  Even though slavery was indeed an evil practice, it shared many positives of the Confederacy. 
 How we used the film..  
     We watched the documentary together one evening as a family.  I didn't want to do it during "school time," since I knew my history-loving husband wouldn't want to miss out. We watched all 80 minutes straight through because no one wanted to stop watching. (Well, we did pause it a few times for discussion and comments.)   My oldest son took American History last year, so throughout the movie it was good to hear him say, "Oh, yeah!  I remember studying that!"
  New Liberty Videos Review
 
Cost of Product:
 $19.95
 
Age Range:
General Audience
This is a film that includes many references (obviously) to the Civil War.  Therefore, there are war images: fighting, dead bodies, cannon fire, etc.
 
 
More New Liberty Videos: 
 Anthem for a Nation
The Forbidden Book 
Mystery of the Dead Sea Scrolls 
A Nation Adrift 
Teaching Origins Objectively 
 
Quotes from my sons: 
 "I thought the movie was great because it was willing to put away the idea that the South was entirely bad, and show us an example of two great Christian men."
-- age 16 
 
"I'm glad that this movie was able to show me the devotion to God that these two generals had, in which no secular book would have showed me."
--age 13
 
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Thursday, October 9, 2014

A TOS Review: Fortuigence~~Essay Rockstar


Fortuigence Review

     Over the years I have come to believe one of the most important parts of a child's education is knowing how to write wellFortuigence may help your child on the way to becoming a rockstar--an essay writing rockstar that is! Our family received Essay Rockstar Expository Essay Writing to use in our homeschool.  My 8th grader used it for several weeks until he had completed the entire short course.
     The methods used were fairly familiar to us, but getting to "turn in" my son's work to another teacher was completely different for us!  It was a neat experience.  I was glad to let someone else to the grading/editing for a while--and I think it gave my son confidence to hear feedback from someone besides "mom."
     The writing instruction involved 5 basic steps: brainstorming, organization, free writing, revision and editing.  These were arranged into several lessons.  For each lesson we visited the Fortuigence website, entered our password and clicked on "classroom."  (Always an easy process!)  For each lesson, my son watched a short video with the teacher.  He then listened to the teacher as she gave further audio instructions.  He was able to read along with her on the screen as she read.  Several links and pdf's were available for further instruction and help.  My son then completed the assignment.  It was typed and sent to the teacher via the website.
     We would then wait a day or two and then my son would receive an email back from Mrs. Iatridis (or "Mrs. I").  She would then instruct what the next step would be.  The "classroom" was automatically updated each time an assignment was completed.  (A gray check indicated an assignment being graded/turned in. A red check meant it was all done.)  Everything was done very linearly and was very self-explanatory.  Each level is mastered before moving on.

The Teacher:  
 Lily Iatridis taught in the traditional classroom for 10+ years.  She holds a master's degrees in:  secondary education and liberal studies.  She also has a Bachelor of Arts degree.  She now does her online teaching full time.  Fortuigence works mostly with homeschooling families.


Age Range:  12-18 years old


Cost: $57

 Similar Products: 


Pros: 
  • A great choice for many types of learners: audio learners, visual learners, etc.
  • The clearly mapped out format was a huge benefit.  My son was able to easily proceed to the next step without confusion.  Very little (if any) help was needed from "mom."
  • There is no strict due date for assignments.  I love this.  Life happens. 
  • Quick feedback.  Very impressed with this!

(Possible) Cons: 
  • I had trouble getting the website to upload a word document.  All it took was an email to Fortuigence and it was handled immediately.  Mrs. I even wrote me a personal email explaining how to make it work in the future.  I was very impressed with this and I never had any more problems uploading anything.
  • We did not receive a lot of "corrections" on my son's work--not until the final editing process.  I was hoping to get a bit more instruction, but in the end it turned out great.

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Saturday, October 4, 2014

Eat-in Kitchen Re-do

      I haven't shared in a while the updates we have made to our new-to-us home.  Today I want to share my almost completed eat-in kitchen.  There were a few details I wanted to finish before sharing...a few got finished, a few have not.  I thought I'd share anyway!

This is the BEFORE picture.  Two things I loved about this room when we first looked at our house: the great wood floors and the cute retro (truly retro) chandelier. 

About one hour after signing the papers...I set to work! 

Already feels better!

See?  Chandeliers are making a comeback....I just happen to have one from the 60's that's hip again! 

AFTER picture...I added gray beige paint to the top and white to all the trim and lower half.  Painting the windows was a bear...but love how it feels in the room now!  My theme for the room is French Country Bistro/Coffee/Bakery shop.  That will hopefully all jive together when the entire kitchen is done.
One of my projects for the room was to get this chair painted.  It has been in the family for years.  It belonged to my Mammaw.  This chair makes a perfect stepping stool for me around the kitchen. 

How about some delicious coffee colored paint?  I got if FREE with a coupon!


Voila!  (Notice the unpainted cabinet nearby...yuck.  Gonna paint those white!)

I recently added some fall decor. (I love having woods near our home!)  No, our new home is not crooked.  Just my picture-taking ability!




Friday, October 3, 2014

Homeschool Highlights~~Year 9, week 5

     We are well into our homeschool year...here are just a few of the things we did this week:


Physical Science
This is our science for the year.

How exciting!  Smoking wires!  We hooked up the copper wires to a 9 volt battery and placed them in baking soda water.  We watched it for about 10 minutes. 

This is what it looked like afterward.  The wire connected to the + terminal is green.  Look like any green you've seen before?  How about the Statue Liberty?  The reaction created copper hydroxycarbonate.  (BIG thanks to Home Depot for donating the wire!)

Putting results in the lab notebook.

Another experiment involving measuring in cubits. 



My 8th grader is using this for his history this year:
 Purchase Uncle Sam and You


This is a portrait of Thomas Jefferson he drew this week.