High School Syllabus!

Welcome to the 2018 Virtual Homeschool Curriculum Fair!  This weeks topic is homeschool Curriculum.

We have been using Classical Conversations Challenge program for the past 3 years. Each year we get a guide, purchase resources and get to work. One of the major criticisms that I've heard of Challenge is that it is so prescribed, and there is no room for creativity. In all honesty, the curriculum picks are not far off from what I would have chosen on my own with the added benefit of amazing group projects, weekly accountability and very cool classical tools used in the context of group discussion.
Down to brass tacks. At least one of my youngest two have now gone through Challenge A, B, 1, II and III.
The curriculum choices follow 6 Strands: Logic, Grammar, Research, Rhetoric, Debate, Expo & Comp.

While CC recommends Saxon for Math (the Logic stage) every student is free to use whatever works best for them. My son uses Math U See, while my daughter is committed to Saxon. Weekly Math "discussions" at Community Day include a Math "Exordium" (using pictures from the book, "100 diagrams that changed the World, Perploxors, Critical Thinking, etc), presentation of a math concept, and then students sharing their own math problems, using the 5 Common Topics. We also enjoy games like Agricola, Risk Legacy, Ticket to Ride, etc. Definitely in the Critical Thinking, Strategic development camp.

Grammar is all about Henle I and II. We also use Memoria Press' guides to Henle. Before Henle, we used First Form from MP. How to succeed with Henle? Memorize and power through. There is no substitute for memorizing. I recommend the MP Latin Form posters and doing them daily with your kids. We also do Latin National Exam and I highly recommend Memoria Press' LNE guide and on-line prep class.

Expo and Comp is just that. Reading lots of great books and then writing essays, using Circe's Lost Tools of Writing. The kids are also delving into Shakespeare and writing and doing Recitations from Shakespeare plays. Great stuff. My son, especially, does a great amount of reading on his own, usually going through a book every week or two, outside of CC required reading. Of late, he's been reading Karac Tor and the Endor's Game series. He is also big into history, weaponry and Theology, and is often checking out reference books and reading Artifax and Biblical Archeology Review.
My daughter is a much slower reader but really puzzles over issues. For instance, her current read is To Kill a Mockingbird puzzling greatly over the times and situation of the book.

Research is Science and CC uses Apologia- which has been our high school Science go-to for over 15 years. We do experiments during class day and the kids do Lab Report write-ups and reading, tests at home. The focus is on the Scientific Method and Lab Reports. This year, we have Physical Science and Chemistry going on 'round here;  my dd will be writing a formal research paper as well and last year she participated in a Science Fair (which she won, btw).

Rhetoric is the art and science of speaking and writing well and has included Current Events, World View, Philosophy, Socratic Dialog and Music Theory. This is a rich, rewarding and at times difficult strand, but worth struggling through. What we have loved is that with community we have the courage to go beyond what we would do on our own. Additionally, the discussions that ensue from the reading and studying are always thought-provoking and at times, amazing!

Debate- this strand has covered Physical Geography (drawing the world by heart), to Formal Logic, LD and Policy Debate, Mock Trial as well as History from the perspective of original source documents and recitations.Again, challenging, great stuff.

Additionally, while it's not considered a "strand" per se, CC has Rhetorical events for the kids, including, essays, recitations, debates, stock market analysis, COLA analysis, Science Fairs and more! This year, in Challenge 3, the kids had 14 events first semester and 19 second. It's a rich, varied and very full curriculum. Parents are still the homeschooling parent and encouraged to scale as needed, both up and down.

CC recommends an hour a day per strand. Sometimes we hit that, sometimes we don't. We often do homework on the week-ends, especially when rhetorical events are due.

We host an in-depth Bible study in our home every week. Additionally, we've used Memoria Press's Christian Studies I -IV and High School studies. An excellent overview of Bible basics and church history that will give your students a firm foundation.

Additionally, both kids spend hours drawing and creating; my dd is has been into clay creation for a couple of years and ds crafts weaponry and costumes. Both participate in Karate for a couple of hours two to three times a week and both take music lessons, piano and violin. and watch movies- often related to the history or composition that we are currently studying.

Theater has been a big part of our curriculum for a long time and our kids have participated in a yearly One Act Play competition, Spring Drama Camp, and in the past a Shakespeare camp, where they perform a Shakespeare play in it's entirety. The Tantara program coming up soon will by my Senior's 15th performance, many delivered at a college campus theater or at a park.

We've also spent countless hours participating in TeenPact (state class as well as Alumni events). Three of my kids have interned at the State capital and we've all campaigned for various people and causes.

The Challenge program has allowed us to accomplish more than we ever could have on our own, especially some of the group events, such as Mock Trial, Science Fair and Debates.

Check out what my amazing VCF buddies have written this week:

Looking for more curriculum ideas? Visit my fellow homeschool bloggers! 

Note: all posts will be live after 8 am EST on Monday, Jan. 22nd.
Our Homeschool Plan for 3rd, 6th, 8th, & 12th Grades by Susan @ Homeschooling Hearts & Minds
Our 10th Grade Plans by Christy @ Unexpected Homeschool
Planning Out Our Unschooling Studies by Jen @ A Helping Hand Homeschool
The Details of Curriculum by Michele @ Family, Faith and Fridays
Reflections of a Curriculum Junkie by Brittney @ Mom's Heart
Freedom through nature journaling. by Kim @ Good Sweet Love
How I pull together a homeschool curriculum without packaged curriculum by Dana @ Life Led Homeschool
Our Favorite Curriculum and Resources - An Annotated Bibliography by Sabrina @ Kids, Crunch, and Christ
Our 2018 Homeschool Curriculum Choices by Amanda @ Hopkins Homeschool
Top Home Educating Resources by Sarah @ DeliveringGrace
Homeschooling Curriculum We Are Using This Year by Laura O @ Day by Day in Our World
Use the Force and Complete the Course by Kym @ Homeschool Coffee Break
Choices, choices - how to choose your curriculum wisely by Lizzy @ Peaches@Home
Our Curriculum Needs - grade seven by Annette @ A Net in Time
The Heart of Our School by Laura @ Four Little Penguins
What I Use with 7th and 9th Grader - Virtual Homeschool Fair -Week 3 by Joelle @ Homeschooling for His Glory
How to Avoid Gaps in Education by Kristen H. @ Sunrise to Sunset
Tricky Subjects and Starting the Decision Making Process by Lori H @ At Home: where life happens
High School Syllabus by TrueNorthHomeschoolAcademy @ GoldenGrasses


   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!

Act Your Part Well -VCF Word Play

This year, like every year at this time, we are deep in the midst of play practice. An area homeschool group hosts a Festival of One Act Plays at a local College Theater each end-of-January. It is a great way to fill long, dark winter days, and a fantastic way to engage in Word Play.

Tantara grew up out of a homeschool group that put on a play one spring. This became a yearly Drama Camp, which takes place at a local church and often involves 60-80 kids, scores of parents and older, graduated siblings. This, in turn, has become a bi-annual Musical, where dance coaches and musicians are employed, and costumes, staging etc is phenomenal. And, of course, Tantara, Festival of One Act Plays, is the mid-year production that has sprung from the humble back-yard beginnings of performing simple myths and fairy tales, dressed up in sheets.

This year, our kids are performing a smash-up of Dancing with the Stars and the Greek Parthenon. It's good writing, we have some seasoned performers and props and costumes are detailed and perfect.

So, back to words. With drama, kids learn the 5 Cannons of Rhetoric: Invention, Arrangement, Style, Memory, Delivery. I mean, they really learn them, because if they don't, they fail on-stage. Theater gives pretty immediate feed-back. And while they are not necessarily writing the scripts themselves, they are taking in and memorizing good words and interesting interactions and learning what makes them engaging. They are developing a critical ear and eye for good (and bad) writing.

In addition, kids must learn, in order to be effective in a performance Projection, Enunciation, Tonality, Speech Skills of Expression (in other words, how to NOT speak in a monotone). They also learn Body Language, Gesture, Control, Team-work, how to take direction, choreography and movement- all while interacting with the audience and other stage members.

Good performance is not limited to simple entertainment. Good performance is a professional skill that will benefit our kids, not matter what they do in life.

Last year, for our end of year CC parents night, Cub, after years of Drama performance, recited Patrick Henry's, "Give Me Liberty" Speech. It was profound, beautiful, heart-warming, inspiring. Cub got to the heart of these stirring words and conveyed them to an audience that included pre-schoolers through Grand-parents and spell-bound them all.

The pen is truly mightier than the sword, because it has the power to change the heart of a soul. Through the ages, good words stand. Cub took the words of Patrick Henry, words meant to spark a revolution and call men to conviction, breathed life into them and inspired an audience, young and old alike, brought tears to eyes and fire to heart. When we act our part well, we too, can change hearts.

Find more articles VCF posts on Word Play: 
2013 VCF Word Play
2014 VCF Word Nerd Love
2015 VCF Words are Loaded Pistols
2016 VCF Classical Word Study 

Please visit my fellow homeschool bloggers who are writing about Playing with Words this week:

All posts will be live by Monday, January 9th at noon EST.
Delight Directed High School English by Susan @ Homeschooling Hearts & Minds
Act Your Part Well- 2017 VCF by Lisa @ Golden Grasses
The Search For Language by Michele@Family, Faith and Fridays
Our Top Picks for Language Arts by Amanda H @ Hopkins Homeschool
Multiple Approaches to Language Arts in 2017 by Laura @ Day by Day in Our World
How We Cover the Language Arts in Our Homeschool by Joelle @ Homeschooling for His Glory

Use Your Words by Laura @ Four Little Penguins
The Art of Perfecting Macarons by Jennifer @ A Glimpse of Our Life
Loving Languages Every Day by Jen K @ A Peace of Mind
Speech Therapy & Elementary Latin by Yvie @ Gypsy Road
The Readin' and Writin' Part of Homeschool by Shecki @ Greatly Blessed
Children Who Love Books by Lizzy @ Peaches At Home
Customizing High School Language Credits by Christy @ Unexpected Homeschool
A Poetry Feast by Sarah @ Delivering Grace
Teaching Language Arts without Curriculum by Brittney @ Mom's Heart
I know your pain and it is worth it! by Kim @ Good Sweet Love
Language Arts: Our Style by Annette @ A Net in Time
Words! Words! Words! by Lisa M @McClanahan 7
10 Wonderful Word Games (+1) by Lori @ At Home: where life happens
Finding the Right Words by Kym @ Homeschool Coffee Break
What About Reading Comprehension? by Kristen @ Sunrise to Sunset
Teaching Grammar and Writing Through Discussion by Chelli @ The Planted Trees

 @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!

Setting the Stage - the 2017 Virtual Curriculum Fair

WELCOME TO THE PARTY! 

The 2017 VCF Party! 

Susan of Homeschooling Hearts and Minds is, once again, hosting the Virtual Curriculum Fair. Make sure you make it over to her blog, as well as checking out the other 26 participating bloggers, with over 287 combined years of homeschooling experience! We have all homeschooled for various amounts of time with large families and small, in cities and in the country, with small budgets and large. Find out more by checking out my intro to the 2017 VCF post.

Our family has homeschooled for 25 years- which would make me old, if I weren't in denial. It's been an interesting journey, taking us through 4 states, 5 kids, a few graduate degrees, 3 graduations, on-line classes, co-ops field trips galore and a zillion books.

How to educated one's kids is one of the most important questions a parent will answer- if they take the time to intentionally ask the question. After all these years, I still believe in homeschooling- the freedom it affords, the opportunity for academic excellence, the hope of individualized, customized education for our kids. I am way past the point of idealizing homeschooling- it's not a panacea, it's not gonna save anyone, it does not guarantee outcomes such as brilliant, kind, Godly kids who have a vision or passion or even a job. It's just a tool. But still an excellent one if wielded with a vision and a purpose.

We are classical educators. This is a bit of a switch from the first 10 years of our homeschooling career, when we took more of a Literature based approach. While I love literature of all kinds, the Literature approach is an overview approach and at the end of the day, the kids are often not sure of what they've learned  (and often, neither are the parents). One of the reasons we switched our focus to classical ed is because it is a mastery approach. My kids know what they know. We love the classical pedagogy for many reasons- it emphasizes skills, teaches how to think, how to learn, demands more, delivers more; it is simple (and cheaper!) in the long run and builds on a child's natural development. I love teaching classically, learning classically and sharing about the beauties of classical education!

We are still homeschooling our youngest two, who will soon turn 17 and 14,  and are in grades 8th and 11th, utilizing Classical Conversations Challenge program. It is content and project dense, creates positive peer pressure and teaches the kids how to manage their time and energies in a way that is focused and productive. Each year the kids have 6 Seminars: Logic, Research, Exposition and Composition, Latin, Debate and Rhetoric; covering Math Science, Writing and Literature, Latin, Apologetics, Debate, Rhetoric Skills, Western Civilization and much more.  Is CC all that our kids do? Are they drowning in stiff and boring curriculum? Hardly- they are involved in music, karate, ballroom dancing, art projects, odd jobs, camps, drama and they both read voraciously,

How do we get it all done? Each week, after our CC Community Day, we sit down with our planners (recently switched to Bullet Journals) and map out the 

week- including school, projects, church, work, lessons, etc. I try to do at least Latin and Logic with the kids (we use Jim Nance's excellent Intro and Intermediate Logic DVD's) and we do Morning Symposium together most mornings.

How do we organize our stuff? We continue to use our trusty Library Cart that we made with plans from Ana White's site, which holds our current school books. We use lap (white) boards and page protectors regularly, for copy/ .memory work.. We also have a "Morning Basket" - literally a basket full of materials we use for Morning Symposium. It is full of our Bible Curriculum, Memoria Press Latin Charts, and Art History Study from Memoria Press.

In one sections of our living room (which is part of our wide-open first floor) sits my workbench desk, loaded down with my Classical Conversations Directing supplies, a color printer, laminator, BuJu stuff, pens, markers and Work stuff ('cause I have a job, too). We have bookshelves throughout the house, lap-tops and kindles. We use all of them, regularly.

While we use and appreciate CC's lay-out of curriculum, and used much of it before joining CC, I am always on the look-out for new and fun curriculum finds. We frequently add in things, like Veritas Press' Art History program, or Memoria Press' Latin National Exam, and I love sharing resources with others. I've reviewed scores of various curricula over the past 8 years of blogging, many with the TOS Review Crew. You can find them under "Curriculum Review" or "TOS Review" tags on my side-bar, or look for specifics in the search box. If you have any questions, please be sure to leave a comment! I love chatting curriculum and developmental ages and stages!

What's ahead for the Virtual Curriculum Fair? This year, we have 25 bloggers with over  200 years of collective Homeschooling experience writing about curriculum in the following areas:

January 9th---Playing with Words: the Language Arts
January 16th---Discovering Patterns: Mathematics, Logic, and Science
January 30th---Seeking Beauty: the Arts and Everything that Brings Beauty to Our World
January 23rd---Exploring Our World: Social Studies and more Science

It's going to be a great month of talking alternative education, the amazing resources currently available and how many of our families utilize these resources.  

I invite you to see how my fellow bloggers learn in their homeschools:

The Evolution of Our Homeschool by Susan @ Homeschooling Hearts & Minds
Us-School Because We Are Us, Not Someone Else by Laura @ Four Little Penguins
It's All About the School by Michele @ Family, Faith and Fridays
Setting the Stage- the 2017 Virtual Curriculum Fair! by Lisa N. @ Golden Grasses
New Year, New Goals, New School! by Amanda H @ Hopkins Homeschool
Homeschooling - A Glimpse into How We Do it by Joelle @ Homeschooling for His Glory
Spotlight on How We Learn in Our Homeschool by Laura @ Day by Day in Our World
Our Unique Eclectic Homeschool  by Jennifer @ A Glimpse of Our Life
How We Learn on the Go by Jacquelin @ A Stable Beginning
Home Education - 10 Ways We Make It Work by Lizzy @ Peaches At Home
Schedules, where would I be without them? by Kim @ Good Sweet Love
Education at Our House by Shecki @ Greatly Blessed
Starting the Day Well by Sarah @ Delivering Grace
Making a Change - Accountability and Responsibility Through Routine by Lori H @ At Home: where life happens
A time to be encouraged is coming.. the Virtual Curriculum Fair by Annette @ A Net in Time
Loving the Moment! by Jen K @ A Peace of Mind
Keeping Our Homeschool Organized by Christy @ Unexpected Homeschool
Homeschool Goal Setting – Looking Forward, Looking Back by Kristen @ Sunrise to Sunset
How We Choose Curriculum by Brittney @ Mom's Heart
This Is How We Homeschool by Kym @ Homeschool Coffee Break
How we don't learn in our homeschool & how I don't plan {2017 Virtual Homeschool Curriculum Fair} by Meghan @ Quiet in the Chaos
Learning Our Way by Lisa @ McClanahan 7
Limping Along: Our Semi-Eclectic Approach to Homeschooling by Debra @Footprints in the Butter
2017 Virtual Curriculum Fair: See How We Learn by Dana L @ Luv'N Lambert Life

@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!

The 2017 Virtual Curriculum Fair is About to Start!

Welcome to the 2017 Virtual Curriculum Fair! I've been part of this party since 2013.Susan @ Homeschooling Hearts & Minds is the creator and master-mind behind the VCF, so make sure you stop by her blog and look around.

What exactly IS the VCF? 

It's a month-long blog series/ hop, which starts MONDAY, JANUARY 2, 2017, that includes a twenty-five fantastic homeschooling bloggers, with over 200 collective years of homeschooling experience, bringing you their best curriculum finds, tips and thoughts. These are, deliberately, non-sponsored posts. You aren't being sold something, there is no catch, you are simply get the benefit of these homeschoolers years of experience. The schedule is as follows:

1. January 2nd---
   See How We Learn/Welcome to the Fair---
   This week we’ll talk about how we get it done, whether it’s due to scheduling and planning or putting your faith in a higher power or somewhere in between. 
2. January 9th---Playing with Words: the Language Arts---includes phonics, reading, writing, grammar, spelling, speech, literature, etc., etc., etc. Latin and foreign language studies could also go here.   
3. January 16th---Discovering Patterns: Mathematics, Logic, and Science---includes anything to do with mathematics, mathematical thinking, numbers, arithmetic, symbolic logic, critical thinking, and math-y sciences.  
4. January 23rd---Exploring Our World: Social Studies and more Science---includes history, geography, world cultures, worldview, biology, botany, geology, etc., 
5. January 30th---Seeking Beauty: the Arts and Everything that Brings Beauty to Our World

The Bloggers 

Susan @ Homeschooling Hearts & Minds

Laura H. @ Four Little Penguins

LauraOinAK @ Day by Day in Our World

Lisa N. @ Golden Grasses

Jacquelin C. @ A Stable Beginning

Jennifer King @ A Peace of Mind

Michele Pleasants @ Family, Faith and Fridays

Joelle @ Homeschooling for His Glory

Amanda H @ Hopkins Homeschool

Christy @ Unexpected Homeschool

Brittney @ Mom's Heart

Kym Thorpe @ Homeschool Coffee Break

Yvie Field @ Gypsy Road

Dana Lambert @ Luv'N Lambert Life

Debra B. @ Footprints in the Butter

Sarah J @ Delivering Grace

Annette @ A Net in Time

Lori H @ At Home: where life happens

Jeniffer @ Thou Shall Not Whine

Lizzy Peach @ Peaches @Home

Meghan W. @ Quiet In The Chaos

Amy L. @ Adorable Chaos

Kristen Hamilton @ Sunrise to Sunset

Kim @ Good Sweet Love

It's going to be a great month of Curriculum Talk!

@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!

Blue Ribbon LIst of Homeschool High School Extra-Curriculars

Middle of the year and we are thinking about what's working and what could be switched up. This is our second year of Classical Conversations Challenge program, which we love. It is also full of projects, like Debate, Shoe-box Scientists, Science Fair, Art Grant Proposals and more so it's not like we are necessarily looking for more. But, you know, it's mid-year, right. 'Nuff said, right there.
Will we make big changes mid-year? No, we love CC and both kids are being challenged academically and in other ways. We are also loving our Morning Symposium. We've recently finished The Story of Christianity and will continue our Church History elective with the Acts of the Apostles. But, just 'cause it was a good time to look around the web and brainstorm a bit, here's some terrific articles on High School Electives.
There are several ways to count credits; with a log- 60 hours =1/2 Carnegie Unit (which is 1/2 High School credit); by finishing a typical High School text (Apologia's High School Marine Biology = 1 credit, not including Lab); by doing a compilation of things; like counting a Spine (like the "Joy of Cooking") along with hours in "Lab" preparing, in conjunction with presentation that would add up to 1/2 or full credit in Cooking/Home Ec, etc. You can find out more about Carnegie Units here.

Here's our list of Electives A-Z that we've done over the past quarter century of homeschooling:

Awanas; Apologetics; Animal Care (we have had Guinea Pigs, Fish, Goats, Sheep and a Horse); Art
Boy Scouts; Ballroom Dancing; Blogging; Baking. Brick-laying; Building furniture
Challenge, Church History, Child-development, Church Camp; Chorale; Cooking; Clay Crafts; Campaigning
Drama, Debate; Dry-walling; Duct-tape art
Event Planning; Etiquette
First Form Latin; felting; Farm Helper; Flower Gardening
Girl Scouts (back before it was too weird); Grouting; German
Horseback Riding; Houseplants; Health & Nutrition; History, history and more history
Instagram; Internships (Above Rubies, TeenPact)
Journalism
Knitting; Karate; Keyboarding
Labs- Chem, Bio, Adv. Bio, Latin National Exam; Landscaping; Lego League; Leadership Institute Workshop
Myths and Legends Lit class; Marine Biology; Musicals; Mission Trips
NASA/NOAA Web-site watching, Novel Writing (check-out NaNoWriMo)
Operation Christmas Child
Piano; Poetry Outloud; Public Speaking; Pottery
Quilting
Riflery;
Spinning, Soccer, Shakespeare; Singing; Straw-bale gardening
TeenPact; Traveling; Test Prep
Unicycling (not much, actually, but we own one); Ultimate Frisbee (the official sport of TeenPact)
Volleyball; Violin; Voice Lesson;Vegetable Gardening
Web-Design; Woodworking; WWI and WWII studies
Xerxes acumen (Yeah, I could not find a good "X" word, but my kids have done extension Ancient History studies).
Yoga; Youth Group
Zoology

BJ's list of High School Electives

High School Electives- includes a list of several other bloggers writing on high school electives!

HSLDA's list of Extreme electives

High School Electives for Tech Savvy Teens

10 Fun Electives from Weird Unsocialized Unschoolers

14 Fun (and maybe frugal) Homeschool HighSchool Electives

5 Must Include Electives Types of Electives for your Homeschool High School

Planning High School Ellectives for your Homeschool; including info on credits

Frosting on the Cake: High School Electives, Jobs and College Prepping 

Brigeway Academy- interactive, live-on-line classes, including Science Labs, test prep, Web-design and more

Certificate programs and more Certificate Programs

Khan Academy -Free, on-line courses several of which would be great high school electives.

For Service projects; check out DoSomething.org

Don't forget about Dual Enrollment and CLEP possibilities. Our local community boasts a co-op entirely dedicated to CLEP testing.

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!

The Story of Christianity -Curriculum Review

I am a long-time promoter of Memoria Press everything and we've used/reviewed

Core 6, Christian Studies, Famous Men Series, Lingua Angelica,  The "Form" Series and all things related to Henle Latin. We have gone through the Christian Studies program- which is excellent and includes people, places, scripture memory work, maps, time lines and in-depth analysis. I honestly wish more Sunday School programs were as thorough in the approach to the study of Scripture. 

I've had my eye on the High School Christian Studies programs for a while and we landed on The Story of Christianity this year: The History of 2000 Years of the Christian Faith. I purchased the package comes with a text, Teacher's Manual and Student Manual. 

Every lesson is set up in the same way. There is a section in the Teacher's Manual that sets up each chapter of the book, with highlighted features and background information.  Then you read the chapter in the book by David Hart. 

Hart covers complex concepts and time periods with wit and wisdom. He has an awesome sense of humor, but is never disrespectful or anachronistic. His respect and reverence for the Christian tradition is always evident, but tempered with differentiation between faith in the Master of the Universe and His church on earth. 

At the end of each chapter there are "Questions from Your Reading" as well as "Ideas for Further Thought." The questions are thorough and comprehensive, ranging from historical, "Who called for the first Crusade?" to ecclesiastical, "What was the doctrinal dispute that was most representative of the division between the East and the West."

The "On Your Own" questions are open-ended, thought provoking queries such as,"Which scripture versus could be used to explain substitutiontary atonement?" and "Could another Great Awakening happen in our time?" There are also quizzes and tests with matching short answers.

We started our Morning Symposium with The Story of Christianity and found it to be an engaging way to begin each school day. It is an excellent over-view of Church History, tying together history in a unique way. We finished it just this last week, will continue our study of Church History with The Acts of the Apostles, also by Memoria Press. 

Don't forget to sign up for Memoria Press' free magalog: The Classical Teacher. Excellent, thought provoking articles!

@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!

LuLaRoe Review and Give Away!

KB is guest posting for me today. Her sweet bambino, Samwise is on the move, and LuLaRoe have been her go-to style since he made his entrance  a few short months ago.

Now let’s talk Lularoe! What is all the fuss about? If you haven’t gone out on the limb and spent the twenty-five something dollars on a pair of these leggings yet, go ahead and give them a shot, sister! Or if you’ve seen all those give aways and “legging loops” put your name in, girl! Totally worth it!

Pre-pregnancy I was an all-jeans kind of girl. I had two pairs of yoga pants, for running and bed. But you wouldn’t catch me dead just bumming around in them at home! Not once, never… not unless I didn’t have a pair of clean jeans and that was nearly impossible as I owned probably ten pairs!

Now fast forward to during pregnancy and post-partum. Are there maternity jeans? Why yes, yes there are. Do they last until you fit into “regular” jeans. For the most part, they do. An investment that I highly recommend, if you’re a jeans type of gal. 

However, jeans on post-partum still-healing mommy just is not comfortable for me. Unless they are slip on jean-leggings or something along those lines - zippers and button jeans are currently either to large or too small, too tight or too… Name something. No fun! Hot, sweaty, uncomfortable, falling down or stuffed in a rough material that literally attracts dirt and spit up is not what I call enjoyable.

My husband took me shopping for jeans several times to no avail. Nothing fits the same, and the only jeans that worked are still maternity – although the bands do slowly slip off throughout the day. Maybe this is just me still embracing my post pregnancy body… However I have found some wonderful jean substitutes!

In a last ditch effort, I put my name in for a couple of Lularoe “legging loops” and other give aways. Shocklingy, I lucked out and won a free pair of grey heathered leggings and three different styles of shirt from the loop.

The leggings came in a purple packing envelope. In the envelope was a thank you note for participating, a piece of candy, business card and then the Lularoe packaged leggings. They were crisp, they definitely were soft and I couldn’t wait to wear them!

The next day I wore my heather grey leggings with an oversized, nursing friendly top. Let me tell you OH MY!! “Buttery soft” really doesn’t do the softness of these leggings justice. And no, I am not over exaggerating. Yes, you can get “soft leggings anywhere…” But you can’t get butter-soft leggings that don’t pull, tear, cover everything, hold up and look clean despite baby spit up! It wiped right off! They haven’t caught on anything yet, they wash beautifully, and the Tall and Curvy fit my tall and curvy post partum frame. If I wanted, I could easily wear heals, or my tennis shoes with my new black legging purchase.

 I’m not one to buy into fads, but this is definitely a popular brand for a reason… and just look at the variety of patterns. There are some crazy prints that I really don’t understand. However, there are some other truly beautiful prints out there (and no I’m not referencing the ice cream cone or doughnut prints).

The shirts are equally soft, comfortable and nursing friendly! Very post-partum friendly, easy to wash, adorable patterns! So much fun!

In Conclusion, well worth the very little investment I put forth J And I will be happy to purchase from them!

Interested in trying product, but not willing to bite the bullet financially? Host a facebook pop-up, or put your name in for a give away J I assure you, it will be worth it!

Check out my hostess page on Facebook: Lovely Leggings PopUp. Send a request to join and KB will accept within an hour. 

To enter the give-away, join the page and leave a comment on the FaceBook page, telling us which LuLaRoe you love! Winner will receive a free pair of leggings! 

@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!

Little Britches- Father and I Were Ranchers - Review

Ralph Moody was one of the last frontiersmen, with little to no formal education. As a life- long autodidact, he enrolled in a writing class at the age of 50 and was inspired to write, "Little Britches."

I'm glad he did!

The boys have read it, but this time around we read it out loud (hey, you are never too old for a Read- Aloud!). Boy-howdy, I love this book. It's a good old-fashioned, how the west was won read. There is excitement, adventure and real-life heroism involved, along with a whole lot of love and respect for the important things. The relationship between Little Britches and the Dad is central to the story, and the lessons Ralph learns at the side of his dying father are worth taking  note of. This is the kind of book that makes you laugh out-loud, get choked up, reminisce about grandparents and life when the world, or America at least, was young, and long for "simpler" times. Times when 8 year old boys learned how to stay atop bucking steeds, or ride for miles over open prairie to confess to the "local" sheriff that they came by a pheasant in a manner that might be illegal. It's a brilliant piece of Americana. A fine children's book- absolutely! A terrific historical read, full of wisdom and truth, for readers of all ages- total win!

"Any man who says the world owes him a living is dishonest. The same God that made you made this earth. And He planned it so that it would yield every single thing that the people on it need. But He was careful to plan it so that it would only yield up its wealth in exchange for the labor of man. Any man who tries to share in that wealth without contributing the work of his brain or his hands is dishonest."

"You know, a man's life is a lot like a boat. If he keeps his sail set right it doesn't make too much difference which way the wind blows or which way the current flows. If he knows where he wants to go and keeps his sail trimmed carefully he'll come into the right port. But if he forgets to watch his sail till the current catches him broadside he's pretty apt to smash up on the rocks."

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!

The Homegrown Preschooler- Review

Every child should have mud pies, grasshoppers, water bugs, tadpoles, frogs, mud turtle, elderberries, wild strawberries, acorns, chestnuts, tress to climb. Brooks  to wade, water lilies, woodchucks, bats, bees, butterflies, various animals to pet, hay fields, pine-cones, rocks to roll, sand, snakes, huckleberries and hornets, and any child who has been deprived of these has been deprive of the best part of education. ~Luther Burbank.

I first came in to contact with the Homegrown Preschooler when Leslie and I were vending in Duluth this spring. I loved the booth! As a closet artist, it is everything I want my house to be- warm, inviting, neat, hands-on, practical and beautiful. So, she had me at the booth. But then I got to talking to her and Leslie is not only a business owner but a Challenge Director. CC tribe love, right there! And the booth and philosophy of The Homegrown Preschooler is Charlotte Mason inspired Classical. Sing my song, speak my language; sold. And y'all do know I have a new little Grandbaby, right? So, I'm on the look-out for cool things to do with little Samwise.

 See, he's happy Gramma's on the job!

This is pre-school at it's best. Charlotte Mason inspired, classical methodology, Truth, Beauty and Goodnesss, all wrapped into one beautiful package that is guaranteed to inspire and encourage parents of pre-schoolers! Educating one's kiddos is do-able. More than that it CAN be fun, lovely and cause one to push beyond their normal to something truly inspiring.

I receive The Homegrown Preschooler: Teaching Your Kids in the Places they Live by Kathy Lee and Leslie Richards, along with A Year of Playing Skillfully, by the same authors.

The book is divided into 9 chapters and 2 parts

The Chapters and Part I

Homeschooling- Harvesting a Bountiful Life

Learning Through Play

 Sowing the Seeds- Preschool Learning

Setting the Stage

Home Life=Learning- Slow Down and Teach

What has Time for this?

Organizing it All

Days and Seaons that Don't Fit in the Box

Special Circumstances

Part II- Activities

Home Life

Science

Gross Motor

Fine Motor

Math

Language and Emergent Literacy

Art

Social-Emotional

Each chapter is chock full of activities, suggestions, ideas, recipe, adorable pictures, quotes and color! It is visually delightful and crammed full of ideas and resources. The Appendix is wonderful as it gives you building plans for the awesome play/activity tables that Homegrown Preschooler has in their booth. Perfect for sand, water, little animals, colored rice, cork letters, etc.

The Activities portion is, again, full of ideas and pictures of kids enjoying themselves as they build language and number literacy and life skills. I love this book- it would be a wonderful shower present for an expectant Mom who already has a pre-schooler, especially if you included provisions to do some of the activities. It's also a lovely homeschooling primer for those who compelled by homeschooler but are not sure of where to start. If you have a pre-schooler- this is where! It would also be an amazing Grandparent gift! Have this at the ready at Gramma's house for fun and wholesome engagement when you are watching the littles. This is a great way to build memories across generations.

Over the years we have done many of the activities that are included, but the beauty of this book is that you can pull it out and have ideas at the ready. Also included are supply lists. How perfect is that?

A Year of Playing Skillfully is what really caught my eye. This is an actual CM inspired, classical curriculum for pre-schoolers. I took my copy out of the packaging and put it in a 2" binder. Some of the pages are cardstock/printables and I put those in page-protectors; other pages are 3-hole punched, but if I was going to use this for multiple kids, in a co-op or day-care, I would definitely put those pages in page protectors as well.

What you will find 9 months of activities.
Each month has a FacePage, printed on cardstock, that outlines and details the month, which includes a Theme and a Character Trait as well as ideas in each of the following areas:

Home Life/ socio-emotional

Art/Music

Language/Literacy

Math/Manipulative's

Field Trips Science/ Sensory

Outdoor/Gross Motor

along with a Scripture Verse.

The pages are visually lovely and colorful but not cluttered. You can use the face pages as a checklist if you like or they can be a general guide.

Next comes a month-by-month detailed Activity Guide.

The guide is a detailed, month by month plan of activities, books, music, chores, inspiration, recipes, living skills, reading and math readiness, art and science projects, nature journaling, gross motor play, field trips and more. Complete with lovey pictures of adorable kids participating in them. In other words, these things are DO-ABLE for real Moms, like us. At the end of each months activities is a supply list by Activity as well as a place to record Memories.  Brilliant! 

Also included are printables, ready to use multiple times as they've been printed on cardstock. This includes games and other age -appropriate pre-school activities like cutting practice and garden planning. Again- brilliant. I don't have to go searching, it's readily available and I can make multiple copies as needed. 

Have I mentioned I LOVE this curriculum? It's more than curriculum- it life prep for littles. It is lovely, well thought out, pragmatic and thoroughly delightful. KB and Mr. V can't wait to use this with little V and I have high hopes to jump in with and do some of the activities with them every now and then. 

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Disclaimer: I received a copy of this product 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 the FTC Regulations. 

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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!