This blog is my attempt to document our busy but BLESSED lives raising and educating our children for His glory. A child of God, wife to one, and mom to 6 fabulous kids. We are in our 16th year of homeschooling using a Classical ~ Literature based approach.

Come along for the good, the bad & the ugly.



Wednesday, September 30, 2020

Wordless Wednesday


 



 © 2008 - 2020 A Stable Beginning. All rights reserved. All photographs, text, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written permission of the author.    

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Tuesday, September 29, 2020

Educational & Homeschooling resources from My Teaching Library ~ a TOS review

 

Disclaimer: I received a FREE copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way. All opinions I have expressed are my own or those of my family. I am disclosing this in accordance with FTC Regulations.  

Howdy friends! So, you probably have a few weeks of schooling under your belt. How are things going? Are you looking for some quality materials to supplement your learning? If you are, take a look at the educational resources from the Download Club from My Teaching Library. It’s a great place to look if you are wanting to add to your homeschool.

 

My Teaching Library was created in 2010 by Lynda Ackert, a veteran educator of 20+ years. Back then it was called the Christian Homeschool Hub Download Club (CHSH). Mrs. Ackert has a passion for teaching and creating educational material for teachers and homeschoolers alike and you can tell that she pours her heart into her online ministry. Over the last few weeks, we have added some fun resources with the Download Club, specifically in the science department as we study Anatomy. I’m also really excited to dive deeper into the Reading List I found. It ranges from K-12 and I always am looking for good books to add to our shelves. Especially with Christmas approaching I need some new book ideas for the kids “Stack of Books” gift.


My Teaching Library {MTL} is geared towards preschoolers through high schoolers and gives subscribers access to over 50,000 downloadable pages of quality educational material on an easy to navigate website. With everything from puzzles and games, recipes, math, language arts, science, history and more you’ll be sure to find something that you need. A subscription to the Download Club affords you access to all the downloadable products for a certain time period depending on your subscription. Use your selected downloads for as many times as necessary even if you purchased the material individually or if you downloaded through the Download Club membership.


There are two subscription levels available to choose from: Annual membership for $45.00 that gives you access to all the products on the site. Use this for your entire family for one year.

Lifetime membership for $225.00 that does not expire for any of the products.

Accessing my files was easy! Finding the download you need is as easy as clicking in the “search for downloads” box. You can also view the downloads by category, subject, or grade by navigating through the Educational Resources tab. I have been focusing on the Anatomy downloads for our science study. I love that the printables are so vibrant and detailed. and they are even stored inside my own personal download library for future access. 



With products for everything from Preschoolers to High Schoolers, this download club has you covered! Overall, I give this product two thumbs up! Whether you are teaching your students at home or they are in a virtual learning senario, there is sure to be a PDF you can use for your learning activity. Having access to all of this quality material is really priceless because of the sheer amount of products available to download. Be sure to check out what my CrewMates think of this product by clicking the banner below!
My Teaching Library Download Club {My Teaching Library}

Product ~ Download Club 
Format ~ downloadable PDF files 
Price ~ Annual membership $45.00
Ages ~ Pre-K - 12th graders

 

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 © 2008 - 2020 A Stable Beginning. All rights reserved. All photographs, text, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written permission of the author.     http://astablebeginning.com

Friday, September 25, 2020

Classical Literature Based Learning from the Wisdom Wonder Project ~ a TOS review

 

Disclaimer: I received a FREE copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way. All opinions I have expressed are my own or those of my family. I am disclosing this in accordance with FTC Regulations.

Hi friends! How is your school year going so far? We are finishing up our 6th week here and things are flowing smoothly. We have gotten into a nice routine and lessons are going well too. We do have a few things we have to change up, so look for that post next week. Today I am excited to tell you about a new classical homeschool science curriculum apart of the Young Scholars program from the Wisdom Wonders Project that’s an awesome fit for my little guy.

 

The Wisdom Wonder Project was started in 2005 as the San Luis Classical Academy by a group of parents who desired to have a classical school for their children. When they discovered that there was not a school around them, they decided to form their own school. Now, 15 years later the same group of educators in offering their product to homeschooling parents around the world.


The Wisdom Wonder Project has three curriculum packages available. They include the Little Wonders (three different levels including Pre-K, Junior-K, Kindergarten), Young Scholars (geared for 1st /2nd grade and includes three components of History, Science, and Art), and finally a video based course on Singapore Math.



We received access to the Young Scholars program that includes monthly unit studies for History, Science, and Art. You have the option of purchasing the curriculum at one time as a annual subscription or as a monthly subscription. If you subtribe annually you receive two months free. Since this is a subscription program you can only download one month at a time, however, for the purpose of this review I was able to download several months to get a complete overview of the program. Each learning component does have materials that need to be purchased for every week of the month. There is also a sample weekly schedule that is included to help you schedule your learning.
 


History/Literature ~ The history program uses The Story of the World by Susan Wise Bauer as the spine and begins in 7000 BC when Nomads roamed the Fertile Crescent. If you are not familiar with The Story of the World, it is a four volume set that covers history in a four year cycle. The Young Scholars History curriculum will take you through the early civilizations of ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome. It includes all the components found in a classical education including narration, copywork, geography, timeline, as well as hands-on projects. An extra materials list is also included and contains items such as puzzles, games, and extra books for suggested extras for purchase.

 

Science ~ The science program is also classical in design and includes vocabulary, comprehension questions, geography, and hands-on activities. The curriculum this year covers three months each on biomes, the human body, and life cycles.

 

Art ~ Each month you will discover the character and spirit of a new artist and art are observed and discussed. Art projects focus on techniques unique to the artist.

 

The mission of the Wisdom Wonder Project is to provide book-based learning with developmentally appropriate material through great books in a classical education style. This is what drew me to this curriculum. Micah and I mainly focused on the science portion of this curriculum. We are already using The Story of the World with our current history program, so I only added in some of the activities and a few extra books we didn’t already have.

 

Overall, we both love this curriculum! It is what I have been searching for, for several years. I am excited to continue through this program! It is gentle enough in style, yet rigorous enough for my 1st grader. Fortunately, because we are long term homeschoolers, I have many of the books and/or curriculum the program recommends. I don’t mind purchasing the items we do not have because, again, I think this is an excellent curriculum. However, If I was just starting out as a homeschooler looking for a classical approach I would love to have access to this full curriculum and all the recommended materials needed in one purchase. Yes, it would increase the monthly or annual pricing, but I think this curriculum is worth the extra expense.

 





Starting next week we are going to jump ahead in the science curriculum to the Human Body portion because it lines up with what McKenzie, my 5th grader, is studying. We will come back to finish the rest of the biomes study after the new year. We also will be continuing with the History/Literature portion, specifically the hands-on activities. Our history program jumps around in the chapters of SOTW, so I just find the corresponding chapter and plan our lessons that way. Micah has loved learning all about the Ancient Egyptians and next week we will be doing an archeological dig of ancient Egyptian artifacts.


If your virtual learning is not turning out the way you thought it would, I suggest you head on over to the Wisdom Wonder Project and take a closer look at this literature based curriculum! But don’t just take my word for it! Click the banner below and see what 34 of my CrewMates think of this curriculum and the Little Wonders Preschool (Junior K – Kindergarten) and Kindergarten Singapore Math by clicking the banner below.

 
Little Wonders Preschool, Young Scholars  & Kindergarten Singapore Math {Wisdom Wonder Project Reviews}

Product ~ Young Scholars bundle 
Format ~ printable PDF 
Price ~ annual or monthly subscription 
Ages ~ 1st - 2nd graders
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© 2008 - 2020 A Stable Beginning. All rights reserved. All photographs, text, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written permission of the author. 
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Wednesday, September 23, 2020

Wordless Wednesday

 



 © 2008 - 2020 A Stable Beginning. All rights reserved. All photographs, text, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written permission of the author.     

http://astablebeginning.com

Wednesday, September 16, 2020

Wordless Wednesday

 



 © 2008 - 2020 A Stable Beginning. All rights reserved. All photographs, text, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written permission of the author.     

http://astablebeginning.com

Wordless Wednesday


 



© 2008 - 2020 A Stable Beginning. All rights reserved. All photographs, text, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written permission of the author.

                                                                       http://astablebeginning.com

Tuesday, September 15, 2020

God-focused Bible curriculum with Positive Action for Christ ~ a TOS review

 

Disclaimer: I received a FREE copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way. All opinions I have expressed are my own or those of my family. I am disclosing this in accordance with FTC Regulations. 


Years ago while visiting our state’s homeschool convention for the first time I discovered a God-focused Bible curriculum while roaming the floors of the convention halls. I had never heard of Positive Action Bible Curriculum before then but I was in love with this curriculum at first glance of their Bible Curriculum. A few weeks ago we were blessed to receive the 4th Grade - Building Life Castles curriculum to use.

 

Just who is Positive Action For Christ? They are a Christian publishing company that started back in 1969. The company specializes in educational material for students from Kindergarten to High School. Upon opening up our curriculum box I discovered the Grade 4 Bible curriculum with a teacher’s manual (including curriculum binder) and student workbook and squealed with joy. What I had originally planned out for McKenzie this year was not coming together as I had planned so I was truly grateful for the opportunity to use this 4th grade set with her.

 

Even though McKenzie is in 5th grade, this curriculum fits our needs. The curriculum covers the life and ministry of Jesus Christ, the work of the Holy Spirit, and study the ministry of the Apostle Paul.

Lessons 1–13: The life and ministry of Jesus Christ, with a special emphasis on His teaching and atonement for us 
Lessons 14–17: The work of the Holy Spirit in believers 
Lessons 18–28: Explanations and examples of godly character from both Old and New Testaments Lessons 29–35: The life and ministry of the Apostle Paul

 

A scripture memory system is also included with this curriculum to get students to hide the word of God in their hearts. instead of learning a new verse each week from different areas of the Bible, students learn a passage of scripture over a couple of weeks. A  review week is also built in so that mastery of the passage is gained before moving on to the next passage. Four passages are memorized in the Building Life Castles curriculum: 
 
John 1:1-17 
 2 Peter 1:8 
Psalms 1:1-6 
Titus 3:3-8


Examples of godly character from both the Old and the New Testaments are weaved through this fourth edition with colorful and easy to understand pages. Other updates to this edition include bringing the vocabulary words to the forefront for easy reference of unfamiliar terms and page headings to make the teacher manual.

The teacher's manual which sells for $33.95, and is a complete resource that includes: 
35 lessons (one per week) 
Target truths (objectives) 
Teaching strategy section 
Weekly character traits 
Practical applications 
Interesting stories Ideas for puzzles, skits, artwork, buzz groups, and discussion 
Plans for 3, 4, or 5 day Bible class schedules 
Completed student's manual answer key pages 
Reproducible weekly quizzes with answer key 
Scripture memory program


The student workbook which sells for $17.95, and encourages students to hide God’s Word in their hearts. It includes: 
Vocabulary sections 
Words for songs in music curriculum 
Puzzles, artwork, and maps 
Life application sections 
Attractive full-color format 
Various levels & thinking skills 
Material usable with any Bible translation 
Scripture memorization sheet 160 pages

 


Everything you need to complete this Bible Curriculum, minus your student’s own personal Bible is included. And if you prefer digital editions, Positive Action also offers digital editions of both the Teachers Manual ($23.95) and the Student Manual ($9.95). Extra resources are also available to purchase for $9.95. The resources included in this set include: 

 Student Manual Facsimiles - PDF 
Student Manual Answer Slides - PDF 
 Editable Quizzes - PDF, Word 
Study Artwork - PNG 
Music Recording - MP3


Using this curriculum with McKenzie has been a breeze! I love that she can get up and work on one section per day. Typically, I have her complete a section and then we review it together. Since there are 4 sections, A-C plus the Life Castle section that helps expand on the lesson pertaining to the students life we used it four days a week. She is currently finishing up Lesson 5 and enjoying it.

 


Hands down I recommend Positive Action's For Christ  Bible curriculum to any family seeking an in-depth study of God’s Word for their children! I am so excited to continue through this curriculum with McKenzie and will be adding curriculum for Micah next year as well. But don’t just take my word for it, check out what 20 of my CrewMates thought of this program by clicking the banner below. And if you are interested in ordering your own curriculum you can get free shipping by using the coupon code REVIEW20 when ordering online or by phone. This is just for US customers.
 Format ~ hard copy 
 Ages ~ 4th graders


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 © 2008 - 2020 A Stable Beginning. All rights reserved. All photographs, text, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written permission of the author.     

http://astablebeginning.com

Wednesday, September 9, 2020

Wordless Wednesday- Cub Scout Lions ~ Tigers

 




 © 2008 - 2020 A Stable Beginning. All rights reserved. All photographs, text, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written permission of the author.     

http://astablebeginning.com

Wordless Wednesday ~ Committed to Lindenwood University



 © 2008 - 2020 A Stable Beginning. All rights reserved. All photographs, text, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written permission of the author.

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Wednesday, September 2, 2020

Learn to Read with Reading Eggs ~ a TOS review

Disclaimer: I received a FREE copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way. All opinions I have expressed are my own or those of my family. I am disclosing this in accordance with FTC Regulations.  

If you need a little bit of fun to spice up learning to read for your children, look no further than Blake eLearning Inc. learn to read program called Reading Eggs!




Reading Eggs provides a fun and interactive way to get kids to learn how to read. They accomplish this by introducing beginner readers to the world of reading through interactive stories and games with fun characters. Micah has has been using their newest addition to the Reading Eggs line up, Fast Phonics, and loving every bit of his experience.

 


Reading Eggs has five distinct components to the program including:

~ Reading Eggs Junior for children aged 2-4 years 


Reading Eggs Junior is the perfect amount of stimulation for your young toddler who is just beginning their learning journey. With a huge library of read-aloud books, songs, alphabet games, and the all-important phonemic awareness activities your toddler will be engaged from day one.

~ Reading Eggs for children aged 3-7 years 


With Reading Eggs your children aged 4-7 will learn everything from letter recognition, phonics, to reading early readers while using this program. To capture and hold a young child’s attention and make the reading experience multi-sensory there are also puzzles, games, and songs to make the process F-U-N! Not to mention the chance to win golden eggs and rewards to help the child progress toward the end goal and feel proud of themselves.

~ Fast Phonics for children aged 5-10 


Most beginning readers need a little bit more practice with phonics when learning to read, so the creators created Fast Phonics to focus on building phonics instruction. The Fast Phonics program helps children to learn the 44 sounds of the English language. The program moves quickly but helps to reinforce reading and spelling skills.

~ Reading Eggspress for children aged 7-13 

Do you have an older child or want to continue on the reading journey? No problem! Reading Eggspress {a sister part of the Reading Eggs World} is geared towards older children, aged 7-13, to encourage fluent reading. Using real books for reading this program is jam packed with hundreds of interactive reading activities and games to encourage fluent reading!

~ Mathseeds for children aged 3-9 years  


Mathseeds teaches kids 3-9 the core math and problem solving skills needed to be successful. Through highly interactive lessons, Mathseeds keeps kids interested in completing math skills. Mathseeds is also available to play on a tablet so you can take the learning on the go if you have internet connection.








For this review, I focused on the Fast Phonics portion only with Micah, my 6year old first grader. He has really enjoyed the learning time. Micah has been working with the program at least 4 days a week for a minimum of 15 minutes. The lessons are engaging and fun so it keeps him interested. His reading has improved tremendously and his is eager to read the books within the program lessons.

 


We had a great time using the Fast Phonics portion of the Reading Eggs program! All in all, we highly recommend Reading Eggs for anyone looking for a fun and exciting reading or math supplement. We received a 12- month subscription for the purpose of this review and have enjoyed it from the start! Be sure to check out what my CrewMates think our the Reading Eggs Program by clicking the banner below to read their thoughts.

 
Reading Eggs Subscription {Blake eLearning Inc Reviews}

Company ~ Reading Eggs 
 Product ~ Reading Eggs 
 Format ~ Online program 
 Price ~ All Access for up to 4 children $89.00 
 Ages ~ 2-13 years old
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 © 2008 - 2020 A Stable Beginning. All rights reserved. All photographs, text, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written permission of the author.   

  http://astablebeginning.com