Thankful Thursday

Today I am thankful for:

20. Safe landing at Portland airport last night, and arriving home.
21. A cool lightning storm on our way home at 2am this morning.
23. The cool, fresh air of home.

This is a continuation of my thankful list. My last post was on 7/25/19

Britfield & the Lost Crown (A REVIEW)

I thoroughly enjoyed traveling all around the United Kingdom with two orphans Tom and Sarah,  learning a little bit of history, and seeing great scenery while reading Britfield & the Lost Crown by C.R. Stewart. This book is not only adventurous with a little mystery, but it could also be a great springboard for a unit study on England. All kinds of historical facts, people, places, and things mentioned throughout this book that I wanted to learn more about as I read. It's a fast-paced thrill ride that's great to read on its own too!

My copy of the book. I also received a bookmark to match!

For this book, I received the physical copy which was a softcover book about an inch thick with a full-color picture on the front that really draws you in. The feeling of the book is nice too, kind of a matte/velvet feel, with embossed letters for the title. There are 386 pages in total including a few pages about the author and a little blurb about the next book coming in 2020 (which I am now excited to read too).

A view of some of the first few pages inside. I was excited to see little maps of the places visited in this book.

To go along with this book is a great study guide. As I said earlier this book is a great springboard for many topics, and this study guide could help with that. For each chapter it has comprehension questions, digging deeper questions, vocabulary, and something to look up with technology (the computer, a device, etc.) to find out more information. I wish we'd had time to do this book as a read-aloud and used the study guide together (before this review). I would highly recommend this as a read-aloud or a listen (it's available on audible too) with your kids. There are some intense parts, and some gunfire so maybe not too young. Older elementary and above, I'd say.

There is an 8-week study guide for Britfield & the Lost Crown.

So, what exactly is this book about? Here is my short synopsis:

The children of Weatherly orphanage are treated terribly. They aren't allowed to do any normal "kid" things such as reading or learning, and they are practically starving. They have to work instead of play, and if rules are broken the punishments are very harsh. Tom dreams of escaping, and he finally finds his chance to do so. He takes his best friend with him, Sarah. With the help of fellow orphans and a helpful adult who worked at the orphanage they were able to escape, their destination: a train to London. Just before they escaped Tom also learned that his parents might still be alive, so they were also hoping to find them, but all they had was a piece of paper with one word on it.

After they escaped a detective was sent after them, and he stayed on their tail pretty closely, but with a lot of luck and a hot air balloon, they were able to get some distance and time that allowed them to get further away as they tried to figure out what to do next. There were many adventures around England as they ran for their lives and tried to outsmart the detective and his police force. As they were making their way to London they found many people to help including a few professors who also had some information about the name written on the piece of paper. That name was a key to Tom's past, but it also meant danger along the way. Soon more people were after them, and they thought all hope was lost several times. In the end, they found allies in unexpected places, and made it to London and beyond. They also figured out the mystery of the name on the paper and hopefully finding Tom's parents who are possibly in hiding.

The Britfield website.

I really enjoyed this book, and plan to read it to my kids this school year. I think my boys will really enjoy the adventure in this story. If you're curious about Britfield & the Lost Crown and want to see more about what the book is about the website is pretty fun to look at. It has some great pictures of locations from the book as well as more about the author. I think it's a fun website to visit and explore around. It gives some insight and visual to the book both before and after reading.

Also, you can check out what others on the crew review had to say about this book by clicking on the banner below.

Fancy Friday (okay not really)

I missed Wordless Wednesday so here's "Fancy Friday". A nice trick shot by Alex into the pool last night at a swim party.

Okay, I just made up Fancy Friday because I just wanted to say hi and get a post up so you all know I'm still here. It was a great week, but I pretty much felt like this all week--barely hangin' on. Actually a more appropriate title for this picture would be "trick shot Alex." How was your week?

My School Year (A REVIEW)

One thing that I feel I am good at in our homeschool is planning. I love to plan and I love a good planner to do it with. Now I've never been much of an online planner, I just love having a physical copy in front of me. But, I've tried it a few times, and the ease of just clicking a few things to put in lesson plans, schedules, and much more is very appealing. I was given the opportunity to try out the Annual Membership Plan for My School Year Homeschool Record Keeping and see if an online planner might work for me this year. It was a bit tricky to set up, but I could see the potential benefits of using this for keeping records and tracking our homeschool.

The Homepage for My School Year

This is a completely online homeschool planner, so it is accessible from any computer with an internet connection. As I mentioned I received the annual subscription, so I will have access to it until my year is up (next year around this time). I can add as many students as I need that are in grades K-12, and all their lessons activities and even chores. It can also keep track of attendance, grades, calendar, transcripts, and more for each student as well. I like that this planner not only keeps track of the daily stuff but the long term as well.

To get started with My School Year there is a lot of setup to do before it can be used in a helpful way. But after that initial set-up, it can be easy to add things, copy things over to multiple children, and view things in a calendar. It's a long process that, I suggest, begins with watching tutorials on YouTube because you have to create the terms, input all the students, their subjects, activities, and chores, and many more details. The whole process was a little bit daunting and tedious for me, which is why I love my paper planner. I can just write things down and not have to figure out all the hoops I need to get through first, but if you don't mind taking the time to figure it all out it can be a great resource.

Setting the term up is helpful to see how the days are broken down.

I have to admit that I'm still not a fan of online planners, but I do like the idea of using both for different reasons. My School Year even has a blog post about this. Sometimes it's nice not to have to rewrite things over and over again, and then have to keep track of papers forever. Entering some things into a program that lays it all out nicely can be a huge benefit and time saver. With My School Year, you can do so much, or you can just use it a little. I like the flexibility My School Year has, and that it's a place where I can have a permanent record of our homeschool if I choose to, or I can just use it for some daily/weekly assignment tracking.

If you'd like to see what other Review Crew members had to say about My School Year Homeschool Record Keeping you can click on the banner below:

CTCMath (A REVIEW)

I love to have multiple ways for my kids to learn math all school year, so I was excited to finally get the chance to try CTCMath, and with a 12 month Family Membership, we'll be able to use it for the whole year. I've heard a lot of good things about this math program the past few years, and I have come to learn that it's pretty easy to use and a great resource.

CTCMath website homepage where we log-in.

CTCMath is a completely online math curriculum. We have access to the program by logging in on their website, so this is available anywhere with an internet log-in. There is nothing that has to be downloaded to complete the daily assignments (unless you choose to print up a pdf for one-page summaries of the lesson, or other helps). With our subscription, we have access to both a teacher account and a student account with the student account having its own login. The teacher page gives access to all the tracking info, scores, tasks to be assigned, tools, etc. It is easy to switch over to the student view from the teacher page, and I really appreciate that.

CTCMath Teacher page.

When the student logs in for their lessons, they can easily find their tasks and a list of lessons. They can also easily change the grade level of lessons within their account. If they aren't ready for something they can easily jump back a grade or two to find the skill level they are at. When they find and choose the lesson they want to work on it opens up to a page where they first watch a video of the topic, and then they answer a series of questions for a little test to see if they can pass off that lesson. They have to score 80% or above to do so, and once they do they receive a checkmark next to the topic. Each topic can be done independent of the others, meaning they don't have to go in order. I love that the student can move pretty freely within the program, but there can also be tasks assigned by the teacher.

An example of how a lesson looks. This is the question portion. As you can see there is also a video tab, and it's available for all the lessons.

My 3rd grader used this math curriculum, and he enjoyed it. He got a little impatient with the videos, but I realized it was because he already knew the concepts, so I told him he could skip it if he already understood what it was talking about. This made him happier, and he liked the freedom to choose. As long as he was getting the questions right it was fine by me. The videos are great though for getting a thorough understanding of the lesson. It is a real person talking and explaining with examples on a white background. The videos are short and to the point making them easy to follow. There are plenty of examples given, and it is easy to go back and watch again and again as many times as needed. I think the video tutorials are the key component that makes CTCMath such a cool program. I am happy to have had the chance to try out CTCMath and so grateful to have this resource for the coming school year.

If you'd like to see what other crew members had to say about this math curriculum you can read their reviews by clicking on the image below.

Back to school pics ~ALEX

3rd Grade

Back to school pics ~ARIC

6th Grade 

Back to school pics ~AARON

8th grade 

Wordless Wednesday: Big kids swinging

 One of my newest favorite photos!

Cashmere Writing Gloves (A REVIEW)

It's back to school time! What does that mean? Lots of reading and writing, right? I have a fun new back to school/college idea... Writing Gloves! It's that school supply you never knew you needed. I didn't know these gloves even existed until Literary Book Gifts reached out to me about this review. Many times I am at the computer typing up a storm and wish that I could wrap up my hands to keep them warm. Well, now I can with these soft and warm gloves because they allow the fingers to be out doing their business while the rest of the hand warms up!

These Writing Gloves are made of cotton, polyester, and cashmere wool. They are super soft and easy to workaround. Being a one size fits all deal they fit nicely on both my daughters and my hands. Stretchy, but not too big for a skinnier hand.

These gloves are nice for not only typing, but also handwriting, crafting, touch screens, and even eating. Because you know having a bite to eat helps any studying or writing activity move along nicely.

With my daughter preparing to start her first year of college, I'm sure she'll use these a lot this fall and winter. I'm also excited to have them around for my work at the computer typing a lot. I'm thankful that we were able to discover this neat product through this review and appreciate Literary Book Gifts sending me this product. They also have other great products like book T-shirts. Give them a look!

 Disclaimer: I received this product for FREE in exchange for my honest review. I was not compensated in any other way.

Library books (A REVIEW)

Books! I love books! Even more, I love books that are good quality, at a good price. That is why I am excited to have found Library and Educational Services LLC for great deals on books. Good, high quality, library books! I was able to pick a title from the Who Was...? series, as well as a CD from the Lifehouse Theater CDs, and several titles from the Reinforced Hardcover Library Binding Nonfiction books section. I received a great bundle of books to try out for this review, and I'm excited about this new book resource.

Just before we received this bundle of books in the mail we had just started discovering the Who Was...? series. In our case, we picked out What Was the Holocaust? by Gail Herman. My boys had recently asked what exactly did "the Holocaust" mean. They didn't quite grasp what it was about. This book just lays it out from start to finish, but it's not dry. It's easy to read, and engaging, but also talks about the really hard stuff. The important stuff. The why, and how the person or people got to where they did. Everything is explained. There are even little pauses in the book (or marked off sections) where something that might not be a well-known fact, is explained in further detail. We read it all. We learn things we didn't know before. My boys have enjoyed reading/listening to this book (we read it as a read-aloud), and I look forward to collecting more. Library and Educational Services has some great prices on this series.

Who was...? series

A new to us audio theater CD we received was from  Lifehouse Theater CDs. I had never heard of these before. They are classic stories told in an audio theater production. There are different voices for the different characters, sound effects, and music to tell the story. We picked the story of Rikki-Tikki-Tavi as we had recently read that story for a different review. It was fun to hear it in an audio theater. We all enjoyed this one.

Lifehouse Theater CDs--We chose Rikki-Tikki-Tavi

The first of the nonfiction library bound books we received are these American History with Arts & Crafts titles. These are great books. They each only have a few crafts, but they are meaningful and go along really well with the text. These books are packed with some great information in just a few pages, complete with pictures. Real pictures, from the real-time period. I found myself getting sucked into them, and I wasn't even reading to my kids (although they did read them too).

American History Arts & Crafts book series

These books are easy to read, and packed with information!

Reading about World War I and II

More nonfiction library bound books we received was this set of Colonial People including the Woodworker, Wigmaker, Slave Family, Minutemen, Dressmaker, and Cook. I love this series. I've never read that in-depth into the lives of the people of colonial times. This series is one we'll be working through as we study the colonial times this school year. We've started The Colonial Woodworker and we've already learned a lot, including why colonial people valued the trees and wood at that time.

Colonial People series

The pictures and text in these books are fun and engaging. They are picture book size, but they contain a lot of text and reading. It's all pretty interesting though. We never got bored, and there are plenty of interesting facts and stories all throughout. I was super impressed with these books.

Inside The Colonial Woodworker book. A glimpse of the pictures and text. Lots of fascinating information!

True Ocean Rescue Stories is the last of the nonfiction library bound books we received. I picked this one randomly because it looked interesting. I needed just one more book to fill our order, and I thought my kids would like these stories. True rescue stories are always a hit with kids. There are no pictures in this book, just stories. A good quick read though!

True Ocean Rescue Stories. I picked this book for some interesting stories to read to the children.

This was one of my favorite reviews because I love books. I'm also just excited about finding Library and Educational Services LLC and their great prices for great books. They also have great customer service, or so I hear from my fellow review crew members. Just to give you an idea I got this whole bundle of books (and CD) for $73.00. Right now (limited time) titles from the Who Was ...? series are only $2.89!

If you'd like to see what other crew members had to say about Library and Educational Services, and the books they received (we all received different titles depending on what we chose), then click on the image below.

Weekly Notebook: Last week, Harry potter, summer fun

Life this week...

Let's just say burying myself in a book series like Harry Potter sounds like a pretty good getaway from the mundane right now. But, I don't have time to read those books currently, so we get to enjoy fun events where we can pretend like we are in the world of HP and then I can feel like I just read them.

Homeschool this week...

Pretty much the only "schoolish" thing we did this week was cooking. Aric has been trying to perfect his gummy making skills. Last time was almost a fail. This time I think he got it just about perfect. He made a giant Lego mini-fig gummy the size of a large dinner plate. Is this my favorite cooking activity? No. But, I let him have at it just once in a while since he has such a great desire to make these things. Only once in a while though. He will not be making gummies for a long time. Too messy!

Reviews we are working on...  

Too many! I am feeling the burn out of taking too many reviews on during the summer. We just want to play, and I feel bad for playing when I know we have reviews we need to be working on each day. The pull/guilt is real. I am hoping to enjoy the last month of summer as I wrap up some of the current reviews we have. I just posted about our Colonial Life study from Home School in the Woods. The boys enjoyed doing an archaeological dig project from that study. They made their own dig! It was a super fun project this week.

Places we're going and people we're seeing...

We went to the library for the kid's summer program one afternoon. We all enjoyed it. The drums were fun to hear, and they weaved a story into their music/drumming. The whole thing was just so fun to watch. They let the kids gently drum at the end.

My favorite thing this week was...

National coloring book day. They had a special event at the library giving away coloring books, and then we went home and made cookies and colored. I love coloring, so this rocked. My boys loved the choices they had for coloring books at the library too.

Alex and his coloring book of choice

Aric's coloring book. He didn't want to be in the picture.

Aric let me color in his new Star Wars book. I really wanted to try out a page, so I was happy that he let me color in it for our coloring session.

Things I'm working on...

I pulled out a cross stitch I started a few falls ago. I am hoping it will be done by this fall.

Random things the kids worked on...

Alex made up the rules to his own game with his Walls & Warriors game. He wanted to take a picture of it.

Something I we accomplished...

We cleaned the boys' room one day. It was bad, but now it looks great and possibly livable.

Questions/thoughts I have...

What should I do next school year? For everything from curriculum to co-ops to daily routines. I am even considering if we should continue with the charter. I just want to do my own thing, but I love the opportunities we get with a charter too (field trips, free classes, fun events, etc.). It's just so far to drive for those things. We'll start making decisions soon because this summer is quickly coming to a close!

I'm grateful for...

Sunny days at the beach!

That wraps up last week. By the time you are reading this, a new one will have started, so happy Monday! Hope you have a great week!

~Desiree