Friday, June 26, 2015

Tales from the Circle C Ranch- TOS Review

Circle C Adventures  by Susan K. Malow might sound familiar to you, as we reviewed Thick as Thieves by the same author at the end of March. This time, we had the opportunity to read  Tales from the Circle C Ranch.

Flower dove right in and didn't put the book down until she was finished with it. Upon completion, she picked up Thick as Thieves again and re-read it. Many happy sighs were heard as Flower read these books. They are perfect for tween girls (and big brothers who read them on the sly) who like excellent adventure writing and strong "G rated" values. 

This book allows us glimpses of Andi's childhood, spent in California in the 1800's. Flower found the writing interesting and thrilling. While this book consists of vignettes, the character development is what grabs you, pulls you in and you feel like you have become part of Andi's life. It's easy to relate to Andi's feelings and thoughts. The book ties everything to a relationship with God and living a life of faith- the family goes to church and scripture is used throughout the story. 

That being said, these stories are in no way pedantic, preachy or stuffy. The faith of Andi is blended throughout the story so that my tween daughter felt like it made sense. Andi's struggles and resolutions addressed some of Flower's feelings and struggles and offered kind and Godly resolutions to real life problems. In that, Malow allows the reader to transcend their own issues, relate to someone else and come to a resolution. That, my friends, is great writing. 

This story is true to the time period-"very historical," states my history loving daughter. The author writes about universal issues that young people face, regardless of the age in which they live. This series is very much like Laura Ingalls Wilder stories, with a different setting. 

Flower's over-all assessment of Tales from the Circle C Ranch? She is a total fan-girl and let me know that we needed to buy each and every book in the series as soon as possible! That is a huge endorsement from my history loving daughter.  Cub (aged 15) picked the books up on the sly, and read them too, so don't limit the books to girls only. They will have a wide-appeal and would be a perfect read-aloud! To view all of the books in the series, go to 

There is also a lap-books available for your craft loving children: Andrea Carter's Tales from the Circle C Ranch Learning Lapbook, making this book  a terrific option for co-ops and class days as it covers topics related to California, life in the 1800's, and much more! 


Follow Circle C Adventures on Social Media:
https://www.facebook.com/CircleCAdventures
http://twitter.com/SuzyScribbles 

As always, find more terrific reviews from the fabulous Crew:
Dynamic Literacy Review

TOS Disclaimer

 @Golden Grasses 2008-2013. All photographs, artwork and text are the property of the owner unless otherwise stated. Don't miss a thing! Subscribe to Golden Grasses and get our articles right to your inbox!

Sunday, June 21, 2015

Don't Panic! Homeschooling High School Blog Hop

This month's theme for the Home School High School Blog Hop is 

Planning for High School 
You are singing my song, baby! This is what I do professionally for a large academic company that services students all over the world. My students range from gifted Olympic hopefuls to profoundly learning or physically disabled from the U.S. and abroad. Give me a high-schooler and I can give you a plan and a Transcript (in my sleep!). 


We've had a homeshcooled high schooler in our home for the past 14 years (that's what happens when you have 5 kids with a 3-5 year spacing between each one!). I have a blog post that captures a whole slew of posts on planning for high school titled, ohsosubtly, Get With the Program. This post covers planning, pedagogy, managing your school-room and house, middle-school, high-school and Keeping it all Straight. Be sure to check it out and click on the links!
For the purposes of this post, let's start with pedagogy. Much of what we do educationally is guided by the Classical Method, specifically the Trivium, and as they move in to high school, the dialectic and rhetoric stages. We are looking for programs that teach logical thought and eventually take the kids to the point that they can creatively express their thoughts on a subject with beauty, truth and goodness. We have embraced a Classical Pedagogy for several years believing it to be effective, cost efficient, and totally in keeping with our Christian values and beliefs. We also take a very hands-on, experiential approach and include great books at every turn. Classical is our spine, with a liberal does of literature and project/ experiential based learning.
Based on this, how do we choose curriculum? We have a couple of curriculum suppliers that we know, trust and purchase from. This includes Memoria Press, Peace Hill Press, Roman Roads Media and Classical Conversations. In addition we do curriculum reviews and between the two, we are good. I stay away from other catalogs, because it distracts me from our program. We have enough exposure to new curriculum through reviews and friends that I'm in the loop with amazing new cool stuff that comes along. Additionally, I've found, limiting catalog consumpton on my part, keeps me from falling from the siren song of every.new.thing.that.comes.along. It's easier to stay the course if one is clear as to what the course is and is confident in it!

We follow a standard 4 x 4 transcript- 4 credits of Math, Science, English, History. Well, in theory we do. In reality my kids usually have 6-8 credits in History and English and 3-5 credits in Math and Science, with tons of extra-curriculars, way too much government/ campaigning and out of control Theater credits.
High School Credits- we go with the standard Carnegie unit- 120 hours of work = 1 credit, 60 hours = 1/2 credit, 30 hours = 1/4 credit. Some times that looks like a text book (complete a high school Apologia Science book with "On Your Own" questions and tests = 1 credit),hours on task (Shakespeare Camp), extra reading (completing all of the History of the World volumes by Susan Wise Bauer)  projects (drywalling, grouting, building bookshelves, brick-laying), camps (TeenPact), on-line classes (Bridgeway Acdaemy Science Labs), or co-ops and Tutoring Center.

We are not picky- we take credits where we find them, within the defined parameters of our pedagogy, 4 x 4 transcript goal and time. For an excellent resource on how to think outside the book regarding High School credits, I highly recommend Barb Shelton's HomeSchool Design Form+U+la. That is not to say that we count 1/3 of a textbook as a full credit, or a 15 hour Drama camp as 1/2 credit. I want my kids to know what academic hard work is, to be competitive against other kids who have done the actual full credits worth of work and the satisfaction of accomplishing a real thing.
Last year (Cub's 9th grade year), he did co-op classes (Poetry, Water-color, Middle East studies and a hands on Bio. lab) on-line labs and classes (Chem lab and Myths and Legends) , private tutoring (math), DVD's (The Greeks and First Form Latin), Classical Conversations (Essentials), Camps (Drama, Shakespeare, TeenPact, Speech), Textbooks (Science), Novels (too many to list), History for Fun (History of the Ancient World by SWB and the CC Timeline), Ballroom Dancing, hours outside and many, many hours spent honing his drawing skills. He also earned 11 credits, which was way too many and at one point we looked at each other and agreed that his schedule was out of control.

If it also looks like I am not actually teaching him that many classes, you are right. My role changes from primary teaching in the eled years to Mentor and Tour Guide in the high school years, resourcing my kids with opportunities, lessons and Tutors that go beyond what we can give our kids in terms of knowledge, time or energy.
We live in a low regulation state for Homeschoolers which means that there are high school graduation requirements but there is not a portfolio review to ensure they are done. Getting into college is not a worry for me in regards to my kids, or really most kids, unless they have some profound disability- it's paying for college without obscene debt that is the real challenge. Test scores are the real determinant of scholarship money, way beyond Transcipt- so Test Prep is part of our high school program. Khan Academy has free test prep and there are local and on-line Test Prep programs. I highly recommend having high schoolers do 2-3 practice tests before the actual test, so that they gain familiarity with the test before hand.  
Keeping Records- I make an outline of all four years of high school as the kids start High School - a "Start with the End in Mind" approach. Our map is divided into four years and includes summer camps and extra-curriculars. Transcripts are created at the end of High School using free on-line templates from DonnaYoung.org, as well as creating my own using Word and inserting a graph. I prefer the by-the-year transcript instead of by-subject transcript, but that is a matter of preference. I do list Community Service, campaigning, camps, etc on a second page, high-lighting specific items, such as when the kids get a lead role in a full-length production of a Shakespeare play.

Extra-Curriculars- So glad you asked. We are involved in some really fun extra-curriculars including Drama Camp every spring. The High School Drama Camp now does a huge musical production every other year. Last year it was Joseph and the Technicolor Dream-Coat, which was amazing!  We also participate every January in the Festival of One Act Plays which takes place at a local university theater. Each summer, our kids live at a friends house, the same talented lady who directs the entire thing, for a week immersed in a Shakespeare Play, with a 2-hour performance given at a local park on the 6th day. Believe me, they know and love/hate the play by the end of camp! Feeche has also been involved in Poetry Outloud, which is a national recitation competition.
TeenPact has been in our lives since we brought it to South Dakota several years ago and our kids go through the State and Alumni Class, the 1-Day Speech Class and Back to D.C.
Cub wants to do Survival this year in the fall as well, depending on how much money he makes this summer. We've also been involved in tons of campaigns in the past, somewhat as a result of our involvement with TeenPact. Our older kids have been invited to work on State and National campaigns around the country and have been gifted free plane tickets, loads of caffeine and life- long friends in return for their service and energy.

There is Homeschool Ballroom Dancing, classes and DQ afterward every other week all year long and our kids love it. Each spring the parents invite kids to attend a Homeschool Dinner/ Dance that is semi-formal and includes crazy food and more dancing!

In the summer months, we all meet at a park for the kids to play volleyball. Some of the athletic, volleyball oriented Moms teach skills and drill the younger kids while the older ones jump right into games.
Friends of ours hosted a monthly "TeenNight" for 12 year olds and up in our area for years and their youngest just graduated. We've taken up the banner for this summer and are having a monthly get-together featuring fun, food and bon-fire, which includes air-hockey, smoke-bombs, and hide-and-seek over several acres, including old sheds, groves and fields. Everyone brings a snack to share and parents stay and visit, too.

Our kids also regularly work-out. Feeche was involved in the Timothy Group, which had a rigorous and demanding timed work-out schedule. Now the kids jog, trek, work-out on their own or go to our local small gym with me.  Cub wants to add Fencing and Tae-Kwon-Do this year but it is going to be dependent on times and ability to get there.

Cub also spends time doing things that interest him like project based art work, time shooting (guns and bows) and researching areas of interest. In our world, house projects figure heavily, as we've moved beyond re-building from a house fire to re-modeling a house that survived a house fire. The kids have learned amazing life skills including but not limited to drywalling, brick-laying, house-painitng and grouting. Shop class credit, Cha-ching!
Our teens have all held jobs- including working at Dr. Dh's office, haying, local farm work, working at coffee and tea houses, construction and orchard work. We live in the country, so local farm and orchard work is what's around, but it often pays more than minimum because it is demanding and dirty, and our kids work when they are at work, instead of checking Facebook.

College Credit during High School- the DE laws in our state just changed, so kids can start DE classes at age 16. Cub turns 16 this January, so DE courses, especially as he can do them on-line at home, may be something we try to fit in. He is taking another full-up course load, in addition to extra-curriculars and work, so we'll have to see how it can fit in. He may take some less demanding gen-ed courses, like Speech. Also, CLEPping is on our scope (our State schools take up to 10 CLEP courses- that's a year's worth of college for pennies on the dollar) and things like Western Civilizations I and II, along with Comp 101 will probably be done via CLEP as my kids live and breathe that stuff.
Holy Mackeral, as I write all of this down, it sounds like a lot and it is. Add in two working parents, a college kid in the house, a rising 7th grader, church, friends, teaching co-op and CC classes, speaking,  other obligations and we are full-up. Homeshcooling High School is a lot of fun, though, especially if you have teen-agers that have work/study skills and goals.

Our 15 year old rocks and is a fun combo of kid (he asked me to go see Jurassic World with him -of course I went!) and man (upper body strength, y'all), not to mention skills (brick walk laying-woot!). And he has the academic back-ground to engage delightfully on theology, doctrinal issues, history and politics. Love being home with my teen-agers!

I do lead a 3 hour High School Homeschool Mini-Workshop in homes and for larger venues such as conventions covering credits, transcripts, testing and so much more! as well private consulting on creating High School Maps and Transcripts for a reasonable fee. Feel free to leave a comment or pm me if you are interested in knowing more!

Take time to stop by the other Blogs in the Hop and read their amazing words of wisdom on Homeschooling Through High School! 
Meg from Adventures with Jude on Planning Your Homeschool High School
Chareen at Every Bed of Roses with thoughts on Planning to Homeschool through the High School Years
April from ElCloud Homeschool shares Homeschooling High School: Planning For High School
Debra over at Footprints in the Butter asks: You mean I have to PLAN our Homeschool High School?!?
Michele at Family, Faith and Fridays shares Here's the Plan
Lisa at Golden Grasses says Don't Panic! Homeshcooling High School Blog Hop
Debbie at Debbie's Homeschool Corner Planning Out a High School Program
Gena over at I Choose Joy! shares her The Top Tip for Planning Homeschool High School
Kym at Homeschool Coffee Break shares on Planning and Preparing for Success
Tess from Circling Through This Life shares on Planning the High School Years
Erica over at Be The One shares Planning and Record Keeping for High School
Jennifer from A Glimpse of Our Life on Planning For Homeschooling Highschool
Carol over at Home Sweet Life on Making A Plan
Wendy at Life at Rossmont shares thoughts on Planning for High School
Cristi from Through the Calm and Through the Storm shares on Making High School Plans
Dawn Oaks at Double O Farms shares Planning for the High School Years
Leah from As We Walk Along the Road shares her thoughts on Making Plans for Homeschooling Through High School
Leah from As We Walk Along the Road shares her thoughts on Making Plans for Homeschooling Through High School


@Golden Grasses 2008-2013. All photographs, artwork and text are the property of the owner unless otherwise stated. Don't miss a thing! Subscribe to Golden Grasses and get our articles right to your inbox!

Friday, June 19, 2015

CC Parent Practicum

*1*
Our fair city hosted its first ever Classical Conversations 3- Day Parent Practicum this week. Our kids worked the kids camps as leaders and helpers and Dr. Dh and I were the Practicum speakers - 3 sessions for 3 days, including a Dad's luncheon. We had way too much fun teaching the Trivium, talking Science in the Trivium and sharing about the various CC programs. The result so far has been a 2nd Challenge Director and several new students in all the programs. How does having so much fun equal utter exhaustion and a trashed house?

Parent Practicum? What on earth are those women doing? An interpretive dance on the Days of Creation- GREAT rhetoric skills, before our very eyes! Love that!

*2*
On  jumped right back in to our day jobs and re-claiming the house. The house re-claimation program took concerted effort. There was not a clean dish to be found in the house. Flower and I folded and sorted 5 loads of laundry this morning and still have some ironing to do. At least the guys change the laundry around when they are taking their showers in the basement!

*3*
 Next week I am gone again to Challenge Training. The more I share about the program, the more excited I am for it. We'll have a bursting at the seams class and possibly a second one in town. Terrific kids, one and all!

*4*
The boys worked on the brick path today; laying hold of some professional grade foundation material. Love me some hard-scaping! Can't wait till it is finished!

*5*
Reviews- so much great new curriculum out there!
Dynamic Literacy
Apologia Nature Journal
Memoria Press -Ancients 
Piano With Willie
Don't forget to check out the Homeschooling High School Blog Hop- next posting is June 24!

*6* 
End summer brain drain! Check out edX to stop summer brain drain. Tons of on-line classes, absolutely free-including lots of programming classes for some summer fun!

*7*
  "With no fact as a referent, what is normative is purely a matter of preference."
 Ravi Zacharias

@Golden Grasses 2008-2013. All photographs, artwork and text are the property of the owner unless otherwise stated. Don't miss a thing! Subscribe to Golden Grasses and get our articles right to your inbox!

Thursday, June 18, 2015

Dynamic Literacy- Word Build Foundations- TOS Review


As you know, we are word lovers at Golden Grasses and spend a fair amount of time reading, writing, and sharing good words. Vocabulary is important to us, because it is foundational to clear communication, so we were excited to review Dynamic Literacy   Level 1 set  WordBuild: Foundations, Level 1Dynamic Literacy  focuses on Greek and Latin word roots presenting them in a way that is engaging and fun. The core of the program is this:
Word =prefix + root + suffix. 
Easy, right? And effective, because it gives the students the ability to de-code words, regardless of whether they've seen them or heard them before. 


The Teacher's Manual is chock full of great information, building the teacher's confidence and ability to grasp the program with ease. The point of the program is to learn 25 Greek and Latin word families in short, do-able lessons. If you, as an adult are intimidated by Latin or Greek Roots, need to build your own vocabulary for language study or work, this is a fantastic program as it equips the teacher to know and understand roots, pre-fixes and suffixes and use them successfully. In fact, I'll be teaching Latin this fall and plan to work through the WordBuild: Foundations, Level 1 myself in preparation for that. 

Lessons follow three easy steps: 
Teach-- Complete---Discuss

Each Lesson includes Objectives, Materials and Differentiating Instruction (how to make it more or less difficult) as well as an estimated time for each lesson. 

The Student Activity Book is a slim volume and chock full of games. Fun games that are simple, effective, thought provoking and require the student to engage the material in a way that requires that student to engage and interact with the lessons. 

 Included in WordBuild: Foundations, Level 1 is a CD. The CD is not graphics driven with intense time pressure or sound, but a simple and effective tool to use in ones' pursuit of a great vocabulary. We "lost" a computer this year so screen time has been at a premium. Also, while my kids have a few computer games that they enjoy, they much prefer books for study, so it was no surprise to me that Flower preferred the workbook over the CD. That being said, the CD is a great tool to change things up, if you have multiple students in the same program, or just enjoy the ease of on-line learning. Classical music plays in the background, so your kids get the added benefit of gaining familiarity with beautiful music while they build a dynamic vocabulary! Definite win-win!

We have done various types of Language and root studies and found this program to be a terrific approach. Dynamic Literacy takes what could be a daunting/ boring subject (surely, I am not the only person who built their vocabulary by memorizing lists?!) and creates a fun, game oriented learning environment. The 15 minutes of regular study that this program requires flew by as Flower played games such as Root Squares, Magic Squares and Stair Steps. The program is simple enough that once the student understands it, they can take off at their own pace, which is exactly what Flower did.

This is a fun and very effective program. An excellent addition to your Language Arts program! 

Find  Dynamic Literacy Social Media:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Dynamic-Literacy/77106927761?ref=hl     
Twitter: https://twitter.com/dynamicliteracy       
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/dynamicliteracy/

Read more reviews from the stellar Crew! 


Dynamic Literacy Review

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@Golden Grasses 2008-2013. All photographs, artwork and text are the property of the owner unless otherwise stated. Don't miss a thing! Subscribe to Golden Grasses and get our articles right to your inbox!

Wednesday, June 10, 2015

Summer Splash Season


Summer Splash Season is in session! 

@Golden Grasses 2008-2013. All photographs, artwork and text are the property of the owner unless otherwise stated. Don't miss a thing! Subscribe to Golden Grasses and get our articles right to your inbox!

Tuesday, June 9, 2015

Apologia Field Trip Journal- TOS Review

Exploring Creation Field Trip Journal Review
We recently had the opportunity to review Exploring Creation Field Trip Journal published by 

Apologia Educational Ministries

Exploring Creation Field Trip Journal Review
The Exploring Creation Field Trip Journal is a fun, colorful, scrapbook-y looking spiral bound journal. It is bright and colorful with heavy-duty journal pages and a glossy card stock cover. Inside you will discover the Table of Contents, which are, not surprisingly, all field trip related: 
Preparing for a Field Trip, Field Trip Ideas, Places I've Explored, Field Trip Pages, etc. 

There are maps, grids, blank areas to draw, lined areas to write in and more. Flower completed a page about our recent trip to the East Coast under, 


"Story of My Day"
"We drove for 2 long days/ encountering 2 semi-accidents and almost crashing into one of them. The trees and mountains were nice to see although terrifying since dad was driving fast and furious. When we finally arrived at our hotel, one of the staff members had given our room away."
Something I never want to forgetNever eat seafood (Flower got violently sick after eating seafood. 

Ah, life through the eyes of a child. Dr. Dh and I had a great laugh over her perspective, and who would have known if she hadn't written it down? 

Following the tradition of all great explorers and journalists, from naturalists like Audubon, to beloved authors like Laura Ingalls Wilder, journaling is a time-tested method of recording one's every day experiences. Through them we gain valueable insights and discoveries, even about our own lives. 
If journaling isn't something that comes naturally to you, Exploring Creation Field Trip Journal is a great way to jump start the tradition. If it's something that does comes naturally to you, the Exploring Creation Field Trip Journal  makes a lovely, colorful keepsake to record ones travels. These would be fun to do with a co-op, for a child who is a reluctant writer, or one who loves to recorrd data and keep accurate records. For added fun gather together a whole pile of them, give them to everyone in the family and record a special trip or year's worth of field trips together. 

Flower will continue to add to hers as the upcoming months include more travel, camps and even more dissection in the fall! 

Another high quality product from the good folks at Apologia Educational Ministries

Read more first- rate reviews by my fellow Crewbies: 

Exploring Creation Field Trip Journal Review

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@Golden Grasses 2008-2013. All photographs, artwork and text are the property of the owner unless otherwise stated. Don't miss a thing! Subscribe to Golden Grasses and get our articles right to your inbox!

Sunday, June 7, 2015

Drama Week Fun :Drama Week Exhaustion

*1*
This week consisted of our annual Drama Camp Practice and Performances. I directed Flowers group, The Bus Stop- a hilarious comedy about kooks on a public bus. 4 days of practice, then evening performance of 4 plays followed by an ice-cream social. The next night the Jr and Sr High Schoolers performed 3 plays on the local college stage. Throw in picnics and friends at the park every afternoon, Volleyball, costume acquisition, work and leaving the house early- we are all a good kind of tired, but super duper tired, nonetheless.
*2*
Drama Camp, Work and Reviews- two posted this week, including Piano With Willie and Memoria Press' The Book of Ancients set. Stay tuned for upcoming reviews including more vocabulary, Lee in Virginia and more- always more. Loving the richness of the curriculum world these days!

*3*
Also, be sure to check out the introductions to the current blog hop I'll be participating in for the next 7 months- Homeschooling High School. This came into being when those of us on the same Review Team realized that we were getting lots of questions about high school from homeschooling families with younger kids. This hop will cover record keeping, curriculum, extra-curriculars and much more! Spread the word !

*4*
We have a week break and then our area Classical Conversations Parent Practicum. We are all very involved and are very busy getting prepared to do our part. I really appreciate the Parent Practicums- they are encouraging, pragmatic, provide clear action steps and do-able implementation of the classical model of education. Good stuff and it's FREE.

*5*
We are still working on getting the last bit of brick walk laid. We have had an unusually wet spring and every free day has involved a lot of water. Slowly, slowly, it is coming together. Cub is working on getting the picket fence back up and we continue to take down ancient of days fencing and as a result have unloaded tons of chain link fencing and other miscellaneous stuff hanging out in sheds, the barn and side-yards. Our hay-the-fields-man has sprayed again and wow- our pastures are looking Be-ay-U-ti-ful!

*6*
A shout-out to my fellow blogger and friend, Jennifer. I needed a "Thank-you" gift for relatives with super gorgeous thick hair. Lila Rose to the rescue. Jennifer helped me long-distance, suggested gorgeous pins,barrettes and clips and made sure that we received a bonus as well! If you haven't discovered Lila Rose yet, check out Jennifer's  Lila Rose page!

*7*
Read Chuck Blacks' book; this week from the Wars of the Realm series on the recommendation of Cub- my reading buddy (he's a speed reader like me and has great tasted). A bit Frank Peretti-ish, but I loved the viewpoint of Spiritual warfare from an atheists pov. Also, watching more than our fair share of Dick-Van-Dkye- renamed Dyke, Dyke, Dyke in honor of Uncle N. Good, laugh-out-loud fun. Even the obvious jokes and gags are just darn funny- world class delivery by world class funny-people. And it's clean, too- no bathroom humor or crudity. Talent.


http://i1297.photobucket.com/albums/ag30/Lisa_Nehring/siggywithflower_zps2ffa66ba.png @Golden Grasses 2008-2013. All photographs, artwork and text are the property of the owner unless otherwise stated. Don't miss a thing! Subscribe to Golden Grasses and get our articles right to your inbox!

Friday, June 5, 2015

The Book of Ancient Romans Set: Memoria Press TOS Review

Memoria Press is one of my all-time favorite curriculum suppliers! We've used most of the curriculum in their catalog over the last several years, I haven't found anything we don't love, and I give it the highest praise! If you are looking for quality, visually beautiful materials that get the job done, look no further. 

We recently had the opportunity to review 
The Book of the Ancient Romans Set

and, of course, we LOVED it.
We received The Book of the Ancient Romans Set, which includes The book of Ancient Romans, by Dorothy Mills, The Book of the Ancient Romans Student Guide and the The Book of the Ancient Romans Teacher's Guide. 
Part of what I love about Memoria Press guides is that they are all formatted the same. In other words, everything from Christian Studies, Latin and Music to History has the same visual formatting. When I hand my kids a Memoria Press guide, they know exactly what to expect- Memory Work, Vocabulary, Study Questions, Maps, copy work, quotes; all laid out in an orderly, sequential manner- visually clean, easy to manage. 
In addition, the questions in these guides are not rote, fill in the blank type of questions. They are questions designed to get the student thinking, processing, double checking facts and making connections. The kids own the material when they are through with it because they've thought about it, manipulated it, stored it. They understand the material when it's all said and done and remember it, because there are plenty of hooks given on which to hang the information.
Cub is a history buff and just finished reading a 900 page tome on Ancient History. That did not stop him from delving right in to Dorothy Mills book. He's familiar with Mills, from other Memoria Press studies we've done. Mills writing style is easy-going and conversational. It is not difficult to enjoy, even while she is tackling a difficult subject.
We did the study guide together, oratorically. I've done this with my boys for years, with other Memoria Press study guides. They enjoy the interaction, it has lead to some great discussions, I learn a ton, and neither of them love to actually write by hand. We find a comfortable spot together and settle in for some great discussion. The thing I really appreciate about the Teacher's Guides with Memoria Press is that they give you enough information in the answer key that, even though you may not have read the material yourself, you are empowered to have a decent discussion over the material. Of course, there's nothing like reading the source material yourself, but for those of us with too much to do,  it makes it possible for us to really partake in fun, engaging discussions over interesting materials with our kids. If I had to chose just one, of the many reasons why I love Memoria Press, that would be it. 
My kids are doing some CLEP exams, and Memoria Press study guides are part of our strategy for preparing for tests like Western Civilizations. Memoria Press The Book of the Ancient Romans Set would also be wonderful to use in a co-op or class day setting, for adults who want to beef up their understanding of the Ancient World, or for, obviously, the homeschool classroom. 
Memoria Press has set a high standard for others in the classical publishing world. If you are looking for excellent food for thought be sure to sign up for Memoria Press's Classical Teacher, which is one of the most informative Maglogs around, including articles from Memoria Press's founder Leigh Lowe, Logic author, Martin Cothran and many other leaders in the homeschool and classical education world. 
As an interesting side-note, Ms. Lowe has been voted the "Most Admired Woman" in the education category of Today's Woman magazine, June 2014. If you haven't yet discovered all of the great things at Memoria Press, now's the time to do so! You'll be glad you did! 
Follow Memoria Press on Social Media:

https://www.facebook.com/memoriapress     
https://twitter.com/MemoriaPress
Find out what more of the Fantastic Crew thought about Memoria Press
Memoria Press Review
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/>http://i1297.photobucket.com/albums/ag30/Lisa_Nehring/siggywithflower_zps2ffa66ba.png @Golden Grasses 2008-2013. All photographs, artwork and text are the property of the owner unless otherwise stated. Don't miss a thing! Subscribe to Golden Grasses and get our articles right to your inbox!

Wednesday, June 3, 2015

You Can Do It! Homeschooling Through High School Blog Hop!


I am super excited to be participating in the 2015 Homeschool High School Blog Hop. This Hop was birthed by a group of bloggers who realized that, while many of us may have graduated homeschoolers from high school, few of us were actually blogging about homeschooling through high school, or at least others were having a difficult time finding homeschooling through High School Blogs to follow!  Maybe that is because High School seems more "serious," often requires more studying, doesn't always include the cool field trips and camps that the younger years do. But, wait- it DOES! 
 
This coming fall I'll have one Jr. High and one Sr. High Homeschooler- we've graduated three from Homeschool so far.

So, without further ado, let me introduce you to my high-schooler this year. 
 
Cub is 15 and a rising Sophomore. This year he will take classes, CLEP exams, on-line courses, co-op classes, read a zillion books, go to TeenPact, work, do projects on our homestead, keep his non-tech Momma going, play volleyball, go ballroom dancing, do theater, memorize and perform Shakespeare and sleep as much as possible.

 
He is also a total goof-ball, which I love. 

But, back to the Hop. I can't tell you how many times I've heard homeschoolers tell me how intimidated they are by homeschooling High School, (which is one of the reasons I host Homeschool High School Mini-Camps in our area a couple of times a year).  Our goal for this Hop is to give you the tools, courage and resources to feel and be equipped. Homeschooling High School is a blast- your kids know how to do stuff, they have their own interests and are branching out into the world beyond your home. It's a time of transition for many of us- both for our kids AND us as parents! They are becoming the adults they will be, and we get to participate in that transformation! 


Here's how it will work: Once a month, for the next seven months we will be sharing about specific topics, related to homeschooling High School. They are: 
·         24 June - Planning for High School {How and When,ways to/how we're planning to earn college credit while still in high school, Meeting High School Requirements, how to assign credit when there aren't tests, What records do you keep? How do you present them? What influences your method, your emphasis in certain areas?}
·         29 July - Electives {Following Passions, following interests, fitting a job in with school, and Being intentional in Preparing for what comes after high school, Life skills.}
·         26 August - Math, Science, Biology, History {What do you use ? Why do you use ... ? What influences your choices/selection? }
·         30 September - Language Arts {Poetry, Literature, Composition, writing, What influenced your choices/selection?}
·         28 October - "How am I going to teach High School ...?" {Addressing the fear factor of teaching subjects we struggle with or know nothing about, How to achieve credit in subjects your student *hates*}
·         25 November - How do you fit it all in ? {homeschooling high school alongside homeschooling the others, Fostering Independence, Do you generalise or specialise? Schedules,}
·         30 December Graduation { Fostering Independence, How do you know when they are done ?}

And now, I'd like to introduce you to my Super Cool Blog Hop Hosts - be sure to stop by their blogs and say, "hi"- we all love comments, and if you have specific questions about high-school, I'm sure we'd all love to answer them as best we can! 
·         Jennifer from A Glimpse of Our Life - Meet The Bloggers of The Homeschooling High School Blog Hop
·         Meg from Adventures with Jude - Hints for Homeschooling High School
·         Cristi from Through the Calm and Through the Storm - Some Homeschooling High School Friends
·         Debra from Footprints in the Butter - My Three (Homeschooled High School) Sons
·         Leah from As We Walk Along the Road - Are You Really Homeschooling Through High School?! The Homeschool High School Blog Hop
·         Michele from Family, Faith and Fridays - Homeschooling High School Blog Hop
·         Lisa from Golden Grasses
·         Wendy from Life at Rossmont - Introducing High School Homeschooling ... {A Monthly Blog Hop}
·         Gena from I Choose Joy! - Homeschooling High School monthly blog hop- Introduction
·         Kym from Homeschool Coffee Break - Meet the Homeschooling High School Bloggers!
·         Debbie from Debbie's Homeschool Corner - Homeschooling High School
·         Carol from Home Sweet Life - Homeschooling High School ~ What is it REALLY like?
·         April from ElCloud Homeschool - Introducing Homeshooling High School
·         Erica from Be The One - Homeschooling High School
·         Laura from Day by Day in Our World
·         Tess from Circling Through This Life - Introducing the Homeschool High School Blog Hop!
·         Dawn from Double O Farms - Tapping into Great Resources for Homeschooling High School

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