Tag Archives: Christian Education

Schoolhouse Teachers Review

My kids are loving the variety of Homeschool Courses available with the Yearly Membership from SchoolhouseTeachers.com.

There are almost 3 million children currently being Homeschooled across all 50 states in the USA. SchoolhouseTeachers.com is a great “go to resource” for these Homeschool families, for both students and parents. They offer great courses and Homeschool helps at an affordable price. Be sure to check out the time limited special offer below.

SchoolhouseTeachers.com

350+ Courses Online

Available 365 days a year

24 hours a day at your convenience.

Preschool through Highschool and courses for Parents too.

Resources for Teachers

Resources for Parents

Online Subscription Membership

With a membership to SchoolhouseTeachers.com it is easy to find just the right courses to fit your family’s needs.

Courses are available by Grade Level and are easy to access.

Courses are also available / organized by Subject Area so you can find what you need that fits your interests.

These courses are USER FRIENDLY. Besides being extremely convenient and available 24/7 many of the courses also have varying components like choosing either to use the lessons online or download them to your computer, printable lessons, printable worksheets and video components, etc.

Once you select the class or classes you want to do, then each class has more user friendly information such as:

How to Use This Course
Course Details
Course Introduction
Components
Length
Ages/Grades
Course Outline
Transcript Information
Download a Preview
For courses with videos – Watch a Preview Video
Course Completion Certificates
Links to lessons
Links to lesson plans if available

Additional Resources and Help For Members:

In addition to the huge variety of courses, some of the other features I love about our Yearly Membership to SchoolhouseTeachers.com include:

Media Center which includes a FREE subscription to The World Book eBook Library. World Book is an online educational encyclopedia and resource hub filled with eBooks, written articles, videos, games, worksheets, quizzes, experiments, trivia, lesson plans and more. This is a new component of the Yearly Membership to SchoolhouseTeachers.com

Preschool Playground which includes a full curriculum covering a wide variety of subjects, plus lots of tutorials and helpful resources.

Bible
Language Arts
Multi-Subject Learning
Numbers, Patterns, and Cognitive Skills
Manners and Healthy Habits
Arts, Crafts, and Music
Science
Social Studies

Focused Learning Centers for kids who are struggling.

High School Helps includes a list of courses and tips and resources for fulfilling transcripts. There is also a really neat Highschool Planner you can print out to help your student set goals, organize assignments, and stay on track.

Special Needs Resources includes helpful tips for choosing curriculum and making modifications and adaptations to the lessons.

Literacy Center includes how to teach your child to read in 101 easy steps, and includes activities for better comprehension.

Just for Parents section that includes courses, planners, and unit studies to make it easier to balance homeschooling, managing your home, maintaining a healthy marriage, and much more.

Schoolhouse Expos is like being able to get all the great information at a homeschool conference (great speakers on a wide variety of homeschool topics) from the comfort of your living room!

Monthly Menu section helps you create family meals that your family will love.

TOS Magazine Resources

Certificate Library includes downloadable, printable certificates so parents can reward and motivate their students.

Help Charts include printable charts for homeschooling and household management.

Videos Library includes hundreds of free streaming videos.

Our Experience

We have been using SchoolhouseTeachers.com consistently for the past year in our homeschool. A great feature with this site is that no additional text books are required. Also most of the supplies needed for courses are usually found around your house or easily acquired through a local store or online if needed. But usually you can find away to do the class without additional expenses. Sometimes library books are suggested, but you can usually find everything you need on the internet for FREE.

We had used SchoolhouseTeachers.com a few years ago, prior to this past year, with a break in-between, and after using it again this past year I can honestly say their website just gets better and better each year with more classes and resources offered with your membership. I missed it the year we took off and was truly glad to have a subscription for 2017. As a member of the Homeschool Review Crew, we were sent a new 1 year subscription for 2018 in exchange for writing an honest review.

I like the variety of courses available to us, 350+ courses, plus videos, World Book eBook Library, printable resources, and more. I also like the freedom to choose as few or as many courses as we want that fit our family’s needs. I like the flexibility of doing the classes at our own pace and the ability to change courses if we desire and there are no penalties. I like all the special features for parents like making calendars, lessons plans, certificates of completion, and help with dinner menus. I especially like the variety of self-paced highschool courses available.

Some of the classes my kids used this past year from SchoolhouseTeachers.com are:

Introduction To Architecture
Elementary Art
Drawing With Realism
Leadership 101
Public Speaking
Studio Art For Teens
Digital Art and Product Design For Small Business
Introduction to Graphic Design
Art Tips with Jan Brower
Preschool Playground
Bible Stories For Kids

Here are two examples of SchoolhouseTeachers.com courses the kids have taken.

Course Example 1:

Introduction to Architecture.

My son loves this course and he highly recommends it to other kids. It includes 37 lessons and qualifies for a full highschool credit on his transcript. This is a big course and covers 246 pages. Each lesson is several pages long and includes background and historical information, geography, maps, research, videos, websites, vocabulary worksheets, and architecture projects.

Module 1 – Ancient Structures

Lesson 1 – Introduction/Architecture in the Beginning
Lesson 2 – Pyramids
Lesson 3 – Pantheon

Lesson 4 – Parthenon
Lesson 5 – Coliseum
Lesson 6 – Petra
Lesson 7 – The Great Wall of China

Bonus Lesson 8 – Gingerbread Houses and Christmas Architecture

Module 2 – Transportation Structures

Lesson 9 – Tower Bridge
Lesson 10 – Brooklyn Bridge
Lesson 11 – Golden Gate Bridge
Lesson 12 – Panama Canal
Lesson 13 – Hoover Dam
Lesson 14 – Channel Tunnel

Module 3 – Living Structures

Lesson 15 – Neuschwanstein
Lesson 16 – Mount Vernon
Lesson 17 – Fallingwater

Module 4 – Entertainment/Touring Structures

Lesson 18 – Guggenheim
Lesson 19 – Eiffel Tower

Lesson 20 – Statue of Liberty
Lesson 21 – Washington Monument
Lesson 22 – Grand Canyon Skywalk
Lesson 23 – Spaceship Earth
Lesson 24 – Sydney Opera House

Module 5 – Skyscrapers

Lesson 25 – Empire State Building
Lesson 26 – Willis Tower
Lesson 27 – World Trade Center (before and after 911)

Lesson 28 – Petronas Towers
Lesson 29 – Taipei 101
Lesson 30 – Burj Khalifa

Module 6 – Worship Structures

Lesson 31 – St. Basil’s Cathedral
Lesson 32 – Cathedral of Notre Dame
Lesson 33 – St. Peter’s Basilica

Module 7 – Government Structures

Lesson 34 – Capitol Building
Lesson 35 – Pentagon
Lesson 36 – Architectural Fails
Lesson 37 – The Architect

For this course, and most of the courses we have used, we have had the option to download all of the lessons onto our computer with the provided link or use the lessons online. He wanted to download them, and he had quick and easy access and it was easy to download and save them to the computer.

Each time he logs in to his course at his convenience, he reads through his lesson, watches a few linked videos, prints out and completes a worksheet that includes vocabulary and definitions, world maps of locations of buildings, he researches and then puts this into his 3-ring binder, and then he completes a building challenge in almost every lesson.

Some of the building projects have been 3 D paper models of famous structures around the world such as Roman Coliseums and Pantheons and the Great Wall of China. One of the projects was building a ginger bread house. In the curriculum, there are many links to paper models you can print out and build and my son has made a few of them, but he prefers to use 3 D models made of metal, plastic, wood, or building blocks for building famous bridges and other structures. He has made a wish list of various models available on Amazon and Ebay that he wants us to buy for him and he plans to put them on a display shelf in his room when he finishes them. He is only half way through the course at this time and is really enjoying it.

Course Example 2:

Elementary Art

Elementary Art covers 22 lessons /weeks including learning about 12 famous artists, 10 advent art lessons, art techniques, suggested library books, and looking up resources about each artist online and more.

12 Artists

My kids have enjoyed studying about 12 famous artists and their unique styles of art, and the projects they did in each style.

Lesson 1: Michelangelo
Lesson 2: Pablo Picasso
Lesson 3: Vincent van Gogh
Lesson 4: Georgia O’Keefe
Lesson 5: George Caleb Bingham
Lesson 6: Cassatt
Lesson 7: Grant Wood
Lesson 8: Rembrandt
Lesson 9: Pierre Renoir
Lesson 10: Andy Warhol
Lesson 11: Leonardo da Vinci
Lesson 12: Claude Monet

Here is an example of Lesson 2 and learning about the Abstract Art Style called Cubism by the famous artist Pablo Picasso.

Their project assignment for this lesson was to use various shapes cut from colored papers to make their own masterpiece. They really enjoyed this lesson.

Here is an example of Lesson 3 and a Van Gogh painting project.

We found a coloring page of Starry Night by Van Gogh. The kids didn’t want to finger paint this day, so they modified painting the picture using the pressure technique with a brush.

Advent Art

The course also contains another 10 lessons called Advent Art that centers around the Christmas holiday and the birth of Jesus Christ.

Lesson 1: First Saturday of Advent – Luke 1:26-28, 31 An Angel Appears
Lesson 2: First Sunday of Advent – Luke 1:46-55 Mary’s Song
Lesson 3: Second Saturday of Advent – Matthew 1:20 Joseph’s Dream
Lesson 4: Second Sunday of Advent – Luke 2:4-5 The Journey
Lesson 5: Third Saturday of Advent – Luke 2:6-7 He Has Come!
Lesson 6: Third Sunday of Advent – Isaiah 9:6 Prince of Peace
Lesson 7: Fourth Saturday of Advent – Luke 2:8-11 Good News of Great Joy
Lesson 8: Fourth Sunday of Advent – Luke 2:13-18 Glory to God in the Highest
Lesson 9: Christmas Eve – Matthew 2:1-11 Three Visitors, Three Gifts
Lesson 10: Christmas Day – John 1:14 The Word became Flesh!

We did not do all of the Advent Art section of the course as it is listed. Many of the arts and craft projects are designed to create a baby Jesus with felt, or paper plate angels, or star ornament with popsycle sticks, etc.

However there were a couple of projects in this section that I really liked such as Lesson 6 where the kids learn the “Names of God” and create a word picture.

Father God has many names. The lesson provides several names for your picture, however there is still room on the page to add several more.

Yahuah = Father, He who breaths life

Yahusha = Yahuah Saves

1. YAH (“I am”) = Father and Judge (Creator and King)
2. YAHuah (“I am He who breaths life”) = Father (Abba)
3. YAHusha (“I am He who saves”) = Yahuah Saves = Son (Jesus)
4. Ruach HaQodesh (“the Dedicated Breath”) = Holy Spirit
5. Adonai (“Master”) = Lord
6. HaMashiach (“the Dedicated One”) = MessiYAH (Christ)
7. HalleluYAH = “You follow The Way of YAH”

Learning the names of God and making a list of his names on beautiful paper is fun to do. This makes a lovely picture to hang on the wall, or put in a frame, and remind yourself and your kids of how great and loving Father God is and that he sent a part of himself, his only son, to save us.

I plan to tweak the Advent section of the Elementary Art course. I want to add in a few other bible art projects, while still focusing on the suggested bible scriptures about God sending his son Jesus to save mankind. One tweak I am making is to help my kids create a bible art journal that includes the scriptures about Jesus Christ the Messiah. I alternated colored paper and lined writing sheets so they can have plenty of space for writing and for art. It has a “Jesus Christ Messiah” theme instead of a “Christmas holiday” theme and I believe will be more beneficial in learning about and focusing on faith in Jesus year around. I am debating what binding to use for this project, so for now, the pages are loose and put into a folder. I may simply use a three ring binder for them so it will be easy to add more pages when desired. This journal will be a great way to keep related bible art projects and bible scriptures together and will make a fun memory book and encourage their faith.

Coming UP for 2018

Coming up this semester, some of the courses we will be using include:

Classic Architecture
All About Art
Accounting 101
Starting A Micro-Business For Teens
Early American History
Changes in Transportation, Communication, and Technology
Whole Foods Cooking with Sue Gregg
Fun With Cooking
Machines
Health and Fitness
More Preschool Playground!
Camping With Jesus course is filled with activities and discusses issues such as: What Will Heaven be Like? What Is Sin? Who Is Jesus, and Why Did He Die on the Cross? What Does It Mean to be Forgiven? How Do I Grow to Know God More?

Special Offer

New Members can SAVE BIG when you join SchoolhouseTeachers.com’s 2018 Fresh Start New Years Special!

Sale valid from 01/03/2018 – 01/31/2018

Be Sure to use the Special Code of your choice at checkout:

$90/yr (reg. $179/yr) Coupon Code: NEWYEAR18

$9.95/MO (REG. $19.95/MO) Coupon Code: MONTHNEWYEAR18

Sale ends: 31 January 2018

Social Media

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Homeschool Review Crew

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Novare Science & Math: Introductory Physics ~ Review

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We are currently reviewing Introductory Physics in our homeschool from Novare Science & Math.

The author and teacher, John D Mays, cares that students retain what they have learned. He has revolutionized helping students master learning the sciences and mathematics that will benefit them the rest of their life, no matter what they choose to do in their future.

My son is so impressed with this Introductory Physics course, that he has told me he would love to review several more courses written by John D. Mays at Novare Science & Math.

Introductory Physics

General Chemistry

Earth Science: God’s World, Our Home

Science for Every Teacher

Memoria Press and Potter’s School have recently began carrying Novare Science & Math curriculum products for homeschoolers. The Homeschool Review Crew is currently reviewing Novare Science & Math courses for The Old Schoolhouse Magazine. Be sure to see the links at the end of this post to find out what others on the Homeschool Review Crew had to say about using these products with their families.

Introductory Physics

Hardback Student Text Book

376 Pages

Illustrated

Grades 9-12

Retails $75

This course contains 13 Chapters broken down into numerous lessons, 28 quizzes, 23 reviews, 2 semester exams (1 mid and 1 final), experiments, etc. and is meant to be used over the course of an entire school year. A sample schedule is given for how the course can be started in the fall semester and run the entire school year over the course of approximately 53 weeks.

Introductory Physics can be used with high school students who have had Algebra 1. The Author, John D Mays, mentions in the text book that he has taught a modified version of the course to 9th graders who have taken pre-Algebra. He recommends that if teaching this course to 9th graders, then you should modify the course by leaving out chapters 8 and 13 because these two chapters contain more challenging Algebraic math meant for older high school students who have taken Algebra 1 or higher level math.

John D Mays teaches this Introductory Physics course from the perspective of the Christian faith. He not only cares that students master and retain the material, but he cares about their soul and cares that they know the truth. He shares his faith with the students, and teaches that the foundation of science and mastery of every subject in life cannot be separated from the truth of the bible.

Introductory Physics text book includes:

Preface for Teachers
Preface for Students
13 Chapters:

The Nature of Scientific Knowledge
Motion
Newton’s Laws of Motion
Energy
Momentum
Atoms, Matter and Substances
Heat and Temperature
Pressure and Buoyancy
Waves, Sound and Light
Introduction of Electricity
DC Circuits
Fields and Magnetism
Geometric Optics

Glossary (Large list of words and definitions)
Appendix A (Reference Data)
Appendix B (Chapter Equations and Objectives)
Appendix C (Lab Experiments)
Appendix D (Main Scientists and their contributions)
Appendix E (Making Accurate Measurments)
Appendix F (References)
Appendix G (Image Credits) there are a lot of images!
Index

Prerequisites:

Algebra 1
Pre-Algebra (for 9th graders if leaving out chapters 8 and 13)
Scientific Notations
Perform Unit Conversions
Use Metric Prefixes
Determine Significant Digits
Able to solve equations for unknown variables
Able to use a calculator, compute (add and subtract) to the power of 10 or use the EE or EXP buttons on their scientific calculator.

Lab Experiments & Journal:

There are five lab experiments in this course. Students must maintain a Lab Journal for their experiments / written work during the duration of the course. Lab experiments must be written on graph paper (quadrille ruled), written in pencil, and it will also include everything they did in all five laboratory experiments.

Instructions for the Lab Journal and Lab Experiments are included in “Appendix C” located at the back of the text book. Each experiment requires a written report and it is recommended that you purchase a copy of “The Student Lab Report Handbook” from the website for detailed instructions on how to write these reports for all of your Science courses. Each experiment in Introductory Physics will require supplies. Some supplies may be items you already have on hand and others may be items you will need to purchase. Be sure to look through the items needed and have them on hand a head of time for each experiment.

Companion Products:

The textbook is excellent and can stand alone. However, in addition to the text book, it is recommended to pick up a few of the companion products, especially the Resource CD, to maximize the learning experience for the student.

Resource CD $50

(contains teacher resources, weekly reviews, quizzes, tests, ect.)

The Student Lab Report Handbook $22.50

Solutions Manual to Accompanying Introductory Physics $15

Favorite Experiments for Physics and Physical Science $30

Teaching Science so that Students Learn Science $17

Experiments for Introductory Physics and ASPC $20

(contains teacher instructions and experiments)

Our Experience with Introductory Physics

We received the Introductory Physics hardback student text book, and were also given access to download the material from the Resources CD for the purpose of writing this review (the download option is not available for sale, the Resource CD is only available for purchase on CD). My son has read through the Preface for Teachers and Students, Chapter 1 “The Nature of Scientific Knowledge”, looked over the Appendixes for vocabulary and to familiarize himself with some of the learning objectives, and is currently working through Chapter 2 “Motion”. He is taking it slow and loving it so far.

After using this course for the past several weeks, we are very pleased with the materials. The book is wonderful and a great read! The author expresses himself very well and my son likes the personal touches the author has added about his beliefs and experiences. The Resource CD is very important to use with this course . It contains the course overview, sample course schedule, 28 quizzes, 23 weekly reviews, verbal prompt questions, both the semester mid-term exam and year final exam, and teaching tips and sample answers to verbal prompt questions. Beginning with week 3, the students are given a weekly review guide to follow and their are 23 of these guides. You could just use the textbook only for this course, and keep meticulous study notes, but I think you would miss out on a lot of the learning comprehension without also using the Resource CD.

In each chapter of the text book, key Physics concepts are reviewed, and then rehearsed over and over throughout the year while new material is being added lesson by lesson, and chapter by chapter. Verbal prompts and written technical communication is also emphasized.

It is a good idea with this course to have a quiet place to study and make a “study kit” so your student has everything they need on hand. The concepts are challenging and the more your student can focus without distractions (a quiet space away from younger siblings, etc) the better. Plan to spend an hour a day (at least three or more days a week) to stay on top of the learning and reviews. Homeschooling is flexible, so go at a pace that feels comfortable to your student.

We are taking it slow. My son likes to go outside to study if the weather is nice. He says it connects him to God’s creation and it is more enjoyable. So I made a portable study kit for him specific for this course and it contains a highlighter (to mark his book), a pencil, an eraser, a notebook, a Lab Experiment Notebook made of graph paper, a ruler for measuring and drawing lines, and a scientific calculator, and I stored all of these items in a three ring binder. I will add in additional things as the need arises. He will need several items for the lab experiments. In the 3 ring binder, I put a zippered case to hold the loose items, and the notebook, subject dividers, and it is wide enough that his text book fits easily in it too. I also printed and hole punched PDF copies of the weekly schedule, weekly review guides, and chapter quizzes and put them into the binder too. So he is able to study outside or wherever he finds a quiet comfortable spot to focus on learning the material.

The notebook is needed for taking chapter notes such as summarizing the main ideas and understanding chapter objectives and writing down vocabulary words, etc. In addition, the weekly reviews have projects for students to complete to build on their mastery of the information. The weekly reviews are handed out at the start of each week starting with week three. A handy way to store these is organized in your binder for review. Students are also instructed to make their own flash cards for each chapter and review these regularly. You can store flash cards in a rubber band and put them in a zippered case in the binder, or an index card filer, or for ease of use to start out, or into a plastic sleeve page designed for the three ring binder. I hope these steps will help my son be organized, successfully master this course.

I really like the concepts John D Mays has built into his Novare Science & Math curriculum. He emphasizes starting with Introductory Physics as the basic foundation for learning science and math, then building on this with the upper level science courses from there. His strategy is to focus on three areas that he says has proven again and again to boost student academic achievement: Mastery, Integration, and Kingdom Perspective. Please take a few minutes to check out the videos below where the author explains his strategy in helping students strengthen their faith while they master the information they are studying.

Mastery:

The goal is to master the subject without getting overwhelmed or distracted with information that won’t be remembered. The way to master a subject is to reduce the amount of information that is manageable. A reduced-scope curriculum enables students to learn a reasonable amount of material deeply, instead of giving shallow attention to topics that they will not understand or be able to remember. Students who master material they learn when they are younger, will most likely outperform their peers when they reach upper level classes.

The Mastery strategy uses:

continuous review,
ongoing accountability for retention of material,
building with basic skills
adding in new material

Integration:

Integration involves developing and integrating critical points that are effective. These integration points should include:

integrate math skills in science classes
integrate science skills in math classes
develop good written expression on exams, lab reports, etc.
allow the truth of God and his goodness and beauty to point the nature of science and math knowledge
develop specific learning objectives to be understood and evaluated in assessments.

Kingdom:

Instead of conflict between faith and science, Novare Science & Math has set it’s sights on improving how teachers can share with students the relationship between science/mathematics and the loving Creator, our Heavenly Father, who made the universe and everything in it, and then lovingly gave it to us.

We were thrilled with the opportunity to use this curriculum in our home and share our experience with you. Be sure to check it out and see if it will be a good fit for your family too.

About the Author:

John D Mays is the author and founder of Novare Science & Math. He has been teaching in various positions (highschool, college, state and Christian schools and various workshops, etc) since 1985. He is a well known speaker and educator. He has a BS in Electrical Engineering from Texas A&M University, a Master of Education degree in Secondary Education from the University of Houston, a Master of Liberal Arts degree from St. Edwards University, and graduate studies in the field of Physics. John has also worked in various fields including teaching, engineering, engineering management, Math and Science Department Chair, Optics Lab Director, etc. He has put together a team of people, including some of his family members, to help him accomplish great curriculum and programs through Novare Science & Math and point students and teachers to a greater appreciation of Father God, the true Creator of everything.

Social Media

Stay in touch with Novare Science & Math through their social media links:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/novarescienceandmath/
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/novaresciencema/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/novarescienceandmath/?hl=en
Newsletter/BLOG: https://www.novarescienceandmath.com/category/newsletter/

Homeschool Review Crew

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Lego Adventures At Homeschool Coop

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David and Goliath Lego Adventures at Homeschool Coop.

We had a great time learning about robotics, physics, faith, and retelling a story using Legos at homeschool coop.

I chose the bible passage of 1 Samuel 17 for our lesson. This bible passage is about David going to visit his brothers who were in the Israelite Army. They were on the front lines in a battle against the Philistines. The Philistine Army had a warrior named Goliath. He was a giant of a man standing very tall and he was very strong and covered in metal plated armour, and no-one could defeat him in battle. He often said bad things to the Israelite Army and made fun of their God. He challenged them to a fight and if they could defeat him, his army would be their slaves, but if he defeated the Israelite who fought him, then the Israelite Army would be the slaves of the Philistines. David overheard this challenge and the horrible things Goliath said against God. David saw that everyone in the army was afraid, but he was not afraid and knew God would help him defeat the enemy of Israel and the enemy of God. David accepted the challenge to fight Goliath. He trusted in the Lord to help him. He chose five flat stones from a river bed and put one of the stones in his sling, swung it around, and let the stone go into the air. He had learned to fight off animals like wolves, lions, and bears that tried to attack his flock of sheep so he was very good with the sling shot. The stone hit Goliath in the forehead and killed him. David had trusted in God to deliver him from Goliath, and he defeated the enemy of Israel and the enemy of God.

The kids used Lego’s to retell the story. We also set up a robotic Goliath with Lego WeDo. The Goliath robot is built with Legos, pulley gears, worm gear, lever, motor, axle, and movable joints. The kids programmed the computer software program to tell Goliath to stand up and to sit / fall down. They can time his movements and change the speed, as well as program sound effects. They had Goliath stand up and growl his threats to the Army, programmed the sound of David, and his stone hitting Goliath, and then also programmed cheering by the Army after Goliath is hit with the stone and falls forward. It is really neat how you can program sound effects to go along with the robot’s movements.

Everyone took turns manipulating the computer software and retelling the story with Legos. They also take apart the giant and rearrange the location of motorized lever attachment to learn how placing this in different positions, and rearranging the software commands caused the giant to move (or not move). They could re-engineer the set up and try out different ideas. They also completed a coloring page about the battle between David and Goliath and a vocabulary word puzzle.

We also did some physics science in the gym. We used rubber bands for sling shots. We used a large basket placed several feet away on the floor as the target. We took different kinds of balls (cotton, pompoms, foam, and rubber) to learn what materials would be more accurate to hit a target. The kids learned about trajectory, mass, stored energy, kinetic energy, and how to aim at a target. They learned that the more dense their ball was, and the further back they pulled their sling shot, the better and faster the object was able to hit the target. The kids also spent time playing in the gym. They played basketball, tag, hide and seek, and raced each other all around. The gym is such a great place to do a variety of learning, skill building, and physical activities.

Logos are a great teaching / learning tool that can be used in so many fun ways. I love teaching and learning with Legos. I have taught Lego and Robotics Academy Club and several workshops with homeschool and 4H kids in North Carolina for several years, and I have missed it terribly since moving last summer. I hope in the near future I will be able to host Learn It Build It workshops again in the community, and also start a Lego and Robotics club again and perhaps eventually have teams that can compete in First Lego League. But right now, started a new class called Lego Adventures and I am blessed the local homeschool coop has invited me to teach these great kids, and we can learn about science-technology-engineering, and robotics, and use bible stories to build their faith in the Lord. Be sure to check back each month for more Lego Adventures.

Be blessed!

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Fall Tile Art At Homeschool Coop

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Creating personalized seasonal art is a great activity to do as a homeschool project. We participated in this project for homeschool coop. My kids had a blast learning how to make Fall Tile Art and will treasure these creations for many years to come.

To make the Fall Tile Art project, you will need to cut out pictures with a fall theme. This is fun for kids to do and gives the project a personal touch because they chose their own special pictures. We cut out our pictures from fall themed paper bags, but you could also use magazines, wrapping paper, or print them off the internet, etc. You will also need ceramic tiles, modpoge, small felt cushions that stick on one side and are soft on the other, and a sealant.

Next have the kids place a rough draft of their pictures on their tile so they can see where they want to place them or if they want to change the arrangement. Once it is stuck in place, they won’t be able to change their mind, so now is the time to decide where they want to place their pictures.

Next have the kids remove the pictures from the tile and place them in the same arrangement on the table. Then have the kids brush modpodge all over the tile. Next place the pictures back in place. Then they need to brush the tiles again a second time, with modpodge and gently brush over the top of the pictures. Set the tiles somewhere to dry. It took our tiles about an hour for the modpodge to dry. We let the kids play games in the gym and exercise while the tiles dried.

When the tiles were dry, we added small cushions to the four corners of the back side. The cushions are made of felt and are very soft. If you don’t have cushions, you could glue or stick on a piece of felt too. Finally we applied a clear spray sealant over the tile. For safety (breathing, etc), the sealant was sprayed onto the tiles by an adult outside in an open area. The sealant will help these masterpieces resist moisture and last a long time.

The tiles are lovely to display, and could be given away as wonderful homemade gifts too. They can be used to decorate your home for whatever season you chose as your theme. You can display them flat, or hung up. The cushions on the bottom should help protect your furniture from scratches, or you could display these in a picture easle, plate display holder, or hang them on the wall. To hang them on the wall you will need to ad a picture mount of some kind. If you wanted to keep your expenses down, you could hotglue on a soda can tab as a picture mount and it wouldn’t cost but a few pennies for the hot glue you use.

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Wizzy Gizmo Review

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If your kids love to read, then they might like to learn about biblical stories and truth of God’s word with Wizzy Gizmo.

My family was blessed to a review the first book in the Wizzy Gizmo series called Book One: Who Created Everything? Wizzy Gizmo is a Christian curriculum collection of resources including books, audio, and flashcards centered around a group of kids and a Professor, named Wizzy Gizmo.

Wizzy Gizmo Book One: Who Created Everything?

Ages 4-12
Retails $12.99
and currently offering a 10% off your order.
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Professor Wizzy Gizmo invented a machine called the Gizmovision. The Gizmovision machine brings books to life, telling the readers and listeners the “who, what, why, and how” of the story. Though the characters are fictional, they are relatable for kids, and explore true life events with real questions that kids (and adults) want answered.

Wizzy Gizmo Book One: Who Created Everything? is a fun fictional story that looks at true events in the bible. It explores biblical history during the first six days of creation. Wizzy Gizmo places the bible on his machine and he and the kids head off on a fun exploration into learning about Creation in Genesis chapter one. The story is continued in Wizzy Gizmo Book Two: In His Image.

For the purpose of this review, I had my oldest son read the book aloud to the younger children. They were all fascinated with the bible adventure. On of my sons is an audio-visual learner and he drew out parts of the story as he listened too.

There are bright colorful illustrations in the book and dialog between the characters. The kids really enjoyed the pictures and it helped the kids imagination to follow along and keep their interest. I appreciated the book contained a lot of scriptures from the bible and then explained them to the kids. The kids really felt like they were part of the story.

The book contains study questions and also a huge list of vocabulary words. I really liked the vocabulary words for furthering their understanding, spelling, and questions. This was a handy resource. This book would go along great with a unit study of creation where you ad in science, history, math, literature, art, field trips (Creation Museum, farms, zoos, science lab, planetarium, machine shop, etc.), and hands on application of the learning. Perhaps let the kids build their own Gizmovision machine to travel back in time to learn about biblical history.

We enjoyed book one, and I would love to have the additional resources and keep going with the learning. Book two is available and new books are being developed. There is also currently an audio drama of book one with more on the way. The flashcards New Testiment Series look amazing! The cards are BIG and have tons of bible study and historical helps on them. All of this curriculum would make a great program for a homeschool, a Sunday school class, or bible club too. I think kids of all ages would really enjoy them.

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