Something Pretty... and how it affected our homeschooling.

As some of you may know, I scrapbook and make cards for our troops. I have taken some custom orders in the past and created some shabby chic baby keepsakes. You can see all related posts HERE as well as check on the right side bar for my most visited posts.

Now how is that related to homeschooling? 

Please read to the end of the post to find out. 

Last summer, I finished something pretty. J. contacted me for the first time a few years back and I made her a keepsake box to hold photos of the baby she lost. Unfortunately she went on to lose another baby after Phillips. But thanks to God she found a wonderful doctor who helped her finally get pregnant and deliver a healthy baby this past August.

A couple of years back, she had a stillborn baby girl and wanted an album to hold 100+ photos she had been able to get of her baby before burial. It reminded me of the beautiful box and prayer book I made for Julia. 

Today I am sharing with you the treasure I made for her. It's a comfort to us mothers that lose babies to miscarriages or other circumstances that we will one day see them again.

I have lost 3 babies myself. The last one was this past spring. I didn't share about it here because it's just so hard. Most people don't understand when mothers say that their arms feel empty and they have a house full of children. I didn't...until I miscarried this last baby. He was due this November. There should have been a brand new baby in my home right now. :(

Here is the album cover.... The album is 12x12" and filled with page protectors that hold 4x6" photos. I can't remember now but I put about 13 of them in there. There's room for 130 photos.

I added lots of details to the cover with chipboard frames, Prima flowers, rub ons and doillies.

It turned out very mixed media because I gesso the fabric cover and then used acrylic paint to create the background. I adhered a huge doilly (12") to the center and then painted over it. 

The dots were created using modeling paste. I don't own any stencils, but still I was able to create texture and interest with bubble wrap and modeling paste.

I recycled old books and corrugated cardboard to create this side of the cover.

White paint always goes a long way to make anything look shabby. :)

Lots of my favorite stamps.












Below I added the baby's name using white chipboard letters that I stamped over with a script stamp I had. Again added some white paint for the shabby look.

Inside there are photo protectors, each side has a 4x6" card that has been embellished with stamps, and images from Iralamija etsy shop. There you can find the most beautiful digital images. The 4x6" card can be used as a journaling place or just decorating the page.

 

Some of the digital downloads I used were Sentiment and Banners,  Adore Tickets,  Songbird Cards, Bella Rose Background, and Old Tickets. 

There may be others because I really love Beatriz' stuff.

Now how is this related to homeschooling?

For a week, after I lost my baby, I was basically bedridden. We don't have any family close (my parents live in Brazil) and my children and husband had to fend for themselves and take care of me while I recuperated from the miscarriage.

During this time, I was able to see how homeschooling provides the perfect environment for maturing and testing the waters within protective boundaries. My DD11 was able to cook and serve her siblings. My DS8 was able to help around the house more and read/ teach his sisters. My 2 youngest got to take care of Mommy by fetching water and bringing other items in the bedroom.

Everyone learned about what happened. We were able to talk about the preciousness of life, Heaven, Jesus, the Bible, our loving Heavenly Father. The kids got concerned about Mom. It was a lesson for us all to appreciate one another and not take for granted what we have.

I believe homeschooling is one beautiful thing in our lives.

I had wonderful friends who went grocery shopping for me; who brought meals; who prayed for me; who sent me flowers and a card; who babysat my kids so I could go to the doctor. My parents live far away, but God has provided a generous support group right here where I live.

There wasn't much desk work done that week but there was a lot of learning.

And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. - Romans 8:28

As I finished J's custom order this summer, my heart healed. I still long for my baby but I know where he is. I am full of hope. As I worked on this album, joy flooded my heart again.

Have you lost a baby? How did you cope?

Blessings,

Tereza

What To Do When Your Math Curriculum Is Not Working? - A Math Curriculum Review

The easy answer is: you try something new!

Today I want to share with you a Math Curriculum that is working for us at the moment. We have used it on and off for the last year and a half with success. So in June, we decided to fully commit to it and adopted Mathematical Reasoning as our Core Curriculum for my 4^th and 6^th graders.

Before I tell you the pros and cons, it's important to realize that we are an unique family. What might work for our family, might not be a perfect fit for your family. Then again, what I share here today may be just what you needed to hear to have the courage to implement some changes and see your children finally enjoying math.


If you are new here you might want to read some of my Learning Log posts to see how eclectic our home education is. 

My Learning Log posts are shared once a month and contains a list of sort of the resources we use in our home education. I list the books that all my children are reading or listening to. I list the curricula we are using, if we are using one at all and for what subject. I list the websites we use as math, science or history. I list the books I am reading. The resources I found that are new to me and the kids. The unexpected websites the children are using to learn music or computer coding. The activities we are participating in.

My Learning Logs could be a great resource for your family. 

Consider subscribing to my blog to be notified when I post my Learning Logs. (I really got the idea for it, a few years back, from Christina Pilkington. Check her blog out!)

As you can see we, as a family, peruse the internet a lot. We have 4 computers, 3 tablets and 2 Kindles. My DH (dear husband) is a self taught computer geek – our own personal IT. :) We are not very traditional in our school at all. 

I would say that the most consistent and traditional part of our homeschooling is our math curriculum.

I love FREE resources (one reason we use the internet a lot) and have a hard time actually buying curricula. Don't get me wrong. I love curricula. I just don't have enough money to spend on all the curricula I would like to try. I have a hard time committing fully to only one curriculum when there's so much good stuff out there. (I love to change things around. A lot.) So I usually research a lot, and sit on my decision for months, sometimes years before making the jump.


I received my first Mathematical Reasoning book, level D, grade 3, for free from a friend. She had bought it for her son as a supplemental resource and really never used because he was doing well on Singapore Math Curriculum and really didn't need any extra work.


Mathematical Reasoning book, level E, grade 4, was given to me by CriticalThinking Co. as a complimentary copy in exchange for this review.


Mathematical Reasoning book, level F, grade 5, I purchased on Amazon for a discounted price. I think I saved $5.00. Yes, I like to save as much as I can. :)

Below you will find a list of reasons why I actually spend money on this math curriculum and it's making all the difference in our home education.

Here is my list of pros:

1) The books are full of illustrations and color. 

They might even remind you of one of those supplemental books used by public school students that are sold at Walmart. (I have nothing against these either. They are a great resource and have used them with my kids before. I believe you can use anything to teach your kids).  However, Mathematical Reasoning books are more elaborate and for the visual learner they are paradise!

We tried Saxon Math at one time and the gray pages were a complete put off. I know that the newest editions might have a bit more color. But usually it's one extra color besides the black and white. This is ideal for the logical learner who is no nonsense and wants to stick to the point of the subject of math. 

But for the visual learner, colors all over your page is a boost to his energy and thinking processes. For this, Mathematical Reasoning was a win win for my creative visual learner children.

2) The problems presented in the book are very close to real life situations.

Diners, yard sales, football games, cookie and pizza sharing are all situations that will cause you to use math. Because many of the word problems are presented in this format, my children can see quickly how math can be useful in their daily life. An extra bonus is that those word problems are illustrated with colorful charts and pictures.

3) Puzzles and games throughout the book.

My DD11 had a collection of Mathmania books that she would work on in her free time. As an unschooler wanna be and an eclectic MOm, I know there's no such thing as free time. 

Every experience is a learning opportunity.

The time she spent playing games, calculating prices, figuring out puzzles and challenges she was practicing her addition, subtraction, multiplication, division skills and so much more.

Mathematical Reasoning books are filled with challenges, puzzles, games, crosswords (using numbers) that entice and challenge my children to do one more page. Some of those games are Balance Benders style pages (like the one pictured above) which are basically algebra concepts being taught in a fun way.


4) Mathematical Reasoning teaches critical thinking.

Another huge bonus of this curriculum, is that it teaches critical thinking instead of just exercising the kids in math drills. For me, more important than memorizing mathematical definitions or facts is knowing how to use them. Many times we know how to do something but we have no idea there's a name for it. (think cooking skills, gardening etc) That is much more valuable than knowing definitions and theories but having no practical skills.

"These highly effective activities take students far beyond drill-and-practice by using step-by-step, discussion-based problem-solving to develop a conceptual bridge between computation and the reasoning required for upper-level math." from the Publisher's website.

I want my kids engaged using the skills they learned not busy wearing themselves out doing math drills. My Dad said it rightly, "If he knows how to solve this problem, after 4 or 5 he's done. There's no need for him to do 30 of them."

I have used repetition before, as punishment, with a child that was making mistakes due to inattentiveness. The goal was for him to practice focusing and paying attention at what he is doing. But once he proved to me he was focused, we moved on. We don't fill out pages just to say we finished the book.

5. The material is presented in a Spiral concept.

I have used another Math Curriculum that I loved but unfortunately it did not have the spiral concept. 

What is the spiral concept? Nothing more than presenting the same topic over and over again so that the student will not forget it.

Now because Mathematical Reasoning is full of games and challenging puzzles, this way of doing math is not boring. My children are not doing another fraction drill, they are solving a pizza sharing situation or comparing who has eaten the most pizza slices if the pizzas were cut into a different number of slices.

Because the topics are spread throughout the book instead of divided into units or chapters, my kids are even allowed to skip that topic completely (Gasp!) if I know they have mastered it.

6) Affordable price and compact material.

Each book is about $40.00

That is not bad for a curriculum you will use for a whole year!

Everything you need to do math is in one huge book (about 300-400 pages). No extra workbooks, quizzes, textbook, manuals or answer keys.The answers are at the end of the book.


Of course, no math curriculum is perfect! (Although Mathematical Reasoning is close!) 

Here are the cons I found with this curriculum:

1) The Binding is not strong enough!

What? Am I complaining about the binding? Yes!

Mathematical Reasoning books are THICK. The level D book, grade 3, has almost 400 pages. My then 8 year old son was not gentle with this book. He dragged it around the house. He worked on it on the floor, the desk, on his bed... and the covers fell off.

I like the thickness of the book. I had rather have a big thick math book, than a book split into many unit books. But the binding design needs to be revisited. Maybe a spiral binding would work. I don't know. I know that the one they have now, it's not working.

My DD11 has been using her book for the last 3 months, has completed 1/2 of the book and it's already showing signs of wear.

2) There's no Teacher's Guide or lengthy explanations.


Before I explain this con, I need to say that this was really NOT a con for ME, but I see how it could be for another parent.

I hate Teacher's Guides or any manuals that give a parent a script to read when teaching her child, or a manual of how to or what to do next. I never buy them. I never use them. I know I may sound weird but I had rather have the freedom to choose what's the best way to learn than to use a script. A manual robs me of the joy of teaching and learning.


All that to say that the explanations in the books are minimal. More like examples to follow than an elaborated explanation of the concept being introduced.

Most of the time, they were enough for my children. When they couldn't grasp the concept I used other resources. But I have done that with other curricula so I don't think it's a flaw of Mathematical Reasoning. I think it's a flaw with the parent or child.

Some parents may find Mathematical Reasoning a challenge if they don't like math, don't understand it or are afraid of it. This curriculum is very parents' hands-on. You might have to help your child work out some of the puzzles or challenges. You may find yourself explaining how to factor a number or reduce a fraction.

If you skipped why our family is unique at the beginning of the post, you might want to read it now to understand why Mathematical Reasoning worked and is working for us.

3) There's no HOW TO to solve puzzles and challenges.

Sometimes I found myself cornered by not being able to solve a problem. The book does provide answers but not HOW TO solutions.

Because I enjoyed the challenge, we kept working on a a puzzle for a couple of days until we found the solution. That just helped fixate the knowledge or concept being taught.

Again if the parent has low mathematical thinking skills or interest, this book might be a challenge for her.

4) There's no Mental Practice allotted in the book.

Unlike Singapore Math and Saxon, Mathematical Reasoning does not include mental math in their books. BUT that doesn't mean you, as parent, can't turn some of their exercises into a mental math practice.

Just like we did with Singapore Math, sometimes I turned word problems or exercises into oral drills or quizzes.


And here I come to the end of this review. I hope this post was useful to you.

Overall, I really like Mathematical Reasoning curriculum because it is very flexible, colorful and engaging.

My DD11 and I have finally stopped fighting over math. She's finally realized she can do math. This is a great and important step for a child to engage into doing a skill. If the child keeps failing, it's difficult to find the motivation to continue.

My DS9 can do his math as quickly as he likes. I actually let him pick 4 pages to do a day. Some days he picks more, some days I sit with him and choose the pages for him.

At the time of this post, both children are half way through their books. DD11 is working on level F (5th grade) and DS9 is working on level E (4th grade). We will probably be heading to 6th grade level math together in 4 months.

I hope you try it out if you are looking for a curriculum for your visual and creative child. Or for your math aficionado that loves to play games and puzzles in his free time.

Please let me know your thoughts in the comment section. I will be glad to answer any questions.

Blessings,
Tereza  

I received one complementary Mathematical Reasoning book in exchange for my review. This blog is my own personal opinion.

The Logic of English - a preliminary review.

My 9 year old daughter has trouble spelling. I have heard from friends: "oh, that is normal." But you see, she reads a lot of books every month. Not just fluff stuff but Classics, scientific books, chapter books, biographies and more. You can check out our Learning Logs to see some of the books she reads. I have restrained her reading exploration some because of content. She is only 9!

Still she has trouble spelling.

It was hard for me to understand that because I find spelling easy. I speak 3 languages fluently and have a photographic memory. I was naive to think that my own children would have the same easiness with languages as I do.

Because of this struggle, I have been on a search for a spelling program to teach her how to spell. Now why is spelling so important to me? I feel her lack of spelling knowledge hinder her learning journey.

 My daughter walks in the room and tells me she wants to write a story. "Get some paper and write it down." I tell her. "I can't. I don't know how to spell!", she grumbles back. See what I mean?

When my daughter writes, she writes the words the way she hears them. Now because she has not learned the correct sound for each phonogram, she ends up with words in the paper that look more like codes instead of English words. She feels limited because of her inability to spell. I want her to write her heart out, not dread writing!

We tried AVKO Sequential Spelling last year and my daughter did really well. She was able to pick up on the patterns and sequence and spelled 99% of the words correctly. However, a couple of days later, or hours for that matter, if you asked her to write one or two words from her list, she would spell them wrong.

I learned that my daughter does not have the photographic memory that I have. Her memory and learning style is more of a logic one, so although she could pick up the patterns, she did know understand why the words were spelled the way they were so she did not retain the learning.

Denise Eide talks about two different readers/ spellers: one that learns to read intuitively and the other that is very logical. The intuitive one will use and learn the differences of phonetic sounds without being aware of them. The logical reader will "see" the difference in the sounds and not understand why they are not consistent with the limited rules they have been taught.

For example, did you know that the F in the word OF sounds like a V? I had never noticed it until I saw my daughter write OV instead of OF. Now if she wrote OV that meant I said OV even though I had no idea that I was sounding it like a V. I am an intuitive reader/ speller. She is a logical one.

So for my daughter, Sequential Spelling, made no sense, since there were no rules being taught.

I am a native of Brazil, my first language is Portuguese. When I was 12 years old, I learned to speak, write and read in English while I lived in California. I barely have an accent. When I was 27 years old, I learned Spanish. I can speak, write and read in Spanish too. I am definitely an intuitive learner. I can pick up a language quickly WITHOUT having to know all the whys and hows.

My son, who is almost 7 years old, will from time to time correct me when I say a word that has a TH phonogram in it with the wrong pronunciation. Words like Arthur and thought sometimes come out wrong  because Latin languages have no TH sound in it. He will instinctively correct me. Yes, he can spell. He can spell better than his sister who is 9. He has made some connections that his sister hasn't yet.

In my search for help, I found the Logic of English. On their website, I watched THIS video and it changed my life. The video described some of the things that was happening to my daughter. I knew she was not stupid and that she was able to learn anything. Something clicked and I knew that I had found the answer to help my daughter.

I then watched THIS VIDEO and I made my mind right then and there, that I needed this curriculum. I learned a lot of things just watching this 40 minute video. Light bulbs kept going off during the whole presentation. I knew that this would finally help my daughter make sense of spelling and boost her confidence in her capacity to learn.

I will be reviewing The Logic of English curriculum in the next few months. If you have children struggling with reading or spelling I would recommend you begin by watching the videos I linked here. Then go check out Denise Eide's book: Uncovering the Logic of English. You can read samples of her book on the link I provided. It's also on Kindle format.

It might help you too to read this article that Denise wrote where she explains how she discovered the Logic of English. As a homeschooling Mom, she talks about her struggles and how finding out her children's individual learning styles affected the way she taught them.

After receiving the Teacher's Manual, the Cursive Student Workbook as well as a  set of Basic Phonogram Flash Cards, I began immediately working with my daughter. Together we read the Phonemic Awareness in the Introduction part of the Teacher's Manual. As a kinesthetic learner it was so important for my daughter to see how the different sounds were made in her mouth. I learned a lot too and realized that I am definitely an intuitive learner. I had no idea that the A had 3 sounds, but I use them every time I speak!!!

If you would like to read more on my reviews as we go on this journey, feel free to follow me or subscribe via email. If you have any suggestions, I would love to hear it in the comments section. Thank you.

Have a blessed summer!!

Tereza

PS. I used Hooked on Phonics to teach my 2 oldest to read. They learned the sounds of the letters by playing and watching TV. Once they desire to learn to read, I work through Hooked on Phonics program (k-2nd grade) and within 3-6 months they are independent readers. This program does not teach the sound of phonograms with the use of flashcards or the rules of spelling.


* As a homeschooling Mom, I share my experiences and reviews to help other homeschooling parents. All curriculum mentioned in the post above was purchased by me, with the exception of the Logic of English Teacher's Manual, Cursive Student Workbook and Basic Phonogram Flash Cards, which I received free of charge in exchange of my review.

Reconnecting with an old lover...

For the past six months or so I began again doing something that I discovered when I was around 10 years old. I became an avid reader!! yes, my old lover is my love of books. When I was a child I really liked the adventure and mystery books. As a teenager who did not know the Lord Jesus, I got caught into the teen romance novels and vampire fiction books. As an young adult, I loved psychology and human behavior focused books. During a time of intense search for God, I became a bit mystic and I read a lot on New Age books, and the life of the saints. As a newborn Christian I read the Bible and books on the Bible, books on the life of Jesus, on the Christian walk, marriage and the purpose of life.

Recently I have been reading on Christians personal accounts on their life struggles.  Gayle's book really touched my heart. I am a firm believer that marriage is a covenant relationship. That basically means that we share the joys and failures of each other. We don't give up on each other but we strife to stay together and uphold each other in the day of victory and the day of shame. I strongly recommend her book because her life lessons go beyond homosexuality, in fact, it has more to do with forgiveness, restoration and faith than anything else.

One of the amazing surprises in the book is how Gayle shares of  how God is listening to our daily prayers and in the most unexpected ways He answers them. 

I will, in future posts, share other books that have recently impacted my life.

Now, as a Mom of 4 homeschooled children, reading can be a challenge. I love to curl up with a good book and read for hours on end. When the opportunity presents itself and the book is really good, I am known to sit and read and only get up when the book is finished. It's a sad moment for me, indeed, when the last page is finally read!

So you can imagine, homeschooling 4 children, nursing one and running a household, how and when does a Mom read?

Well... here is my confession.... I read while:

1) in the bathroom... sometimes I forget I am still there after 10-15 minutes. Usually the screaming of the children brings me back to reality;
2) in bed while nursing and putting a baby to sleep. I wait until the baby is sleeping and then pull the book from under the pillow and read until she lets go of the breast and I can get up;
3) in the car. When we go on trips, I always carry one or 2 books I am currently reading. My husband drives the van, the children sit back and enjoy an audiobook or music CD and I read! :)
4) at home, when everyone is busy doing something but the house is peaceful and I need a break. I let the laundry slide, we buy carry out for dinner and I read.
5) 2 or more books at once. That's right! I read many books at once. I usually grab what I am yearning for at that moment. Reading more than one book keeps me reading even if that one book is kind of dragging at the moment, or the subject is no longer interesting to me. That way I can always come back to that book if it appeals to me again.

I have found that reading has helped me relax and reconnect with my God. Many at times, the Lord will minister to me while I am reading a book. He will reveal to me the solutions to issues with the children or situations at our home. He will speak to me in the most personal and profound way.

For me to read a book is so very personal. It's an intimate thing to uncover someone's thoughts and perspective of life. I see authors as brave people that put their thoughts in black ink on white pages. My childhood dream is to become a writer. I have a long way to go, but maybe someday. :)

Do you like to read? How do you make time for it in your busy life? What book has recently impacted you?


I have some amazing books I have recently read FOR SALE here.

Be blessed,

Tereza

How to get your children to bed.

A few months back we were having a hard time getting our DD7 to fall asleep at the same bedtime as her younger siblings. So we arrived at a compromise and purchased a small lamp for her bed and she can now stay up and read for an hour before falling asleep.

Then we hit another bump on this road, when she got bored with the books we had available at home. Although we borrow about 30 books every 2 weeks from the library, from time to time, my DD7 can find that she has read everything.

The solution was to let her borrow my Kindle. My husband purchased it for me last September and I used it for a few days until we found out that we could upload free books that DD7 was reading. She was reading The Secret Garden, the Velveteen Rabbit, Aesop's Fables and more. All those and many more can be uploaded for free or $0.99 on the Kindle. Then she carries the little flat device to her bed and reads to her heart content.

I can tell you that the Kindle is no longer mine. I have gone back to purchasing real books since the Kindle sleeps on my DD7 bed next to her other stuffed animals and favorite toys and magazines.

My personal opinion: The Kindle is very easy to operate, any child that can use a cell phone, laptop or computer game can use the Kindle. There are safety features where you can turn the wireless connection off and they cannot download anything to the Kindle. There is also the feature to open folders and file the books accordingly. Our DD7 has her own folder which she knows all books there are safe for her to read. All other folders are off limits. Although the Kindle displays only in black and white, the illustrations are still gorgeous and very entertaining to a child.

If you have someone that loves to read, or is learning to read (the Kindle has a feature that will read the book to you in a male or female voice) the Kindle is the perfect gift to jump start or encourage your beginner or avid reader. It also has a dictionary and many other features like changing the size of the font, displaying the book vertically or horizontally, bookmarking, highlighting and more. Just figuring out all the features it has can be very entertaining if you are a computer Wyzard like my DH.

I hope it helps get your child to bed... it has helped mine. :)

Tereza