Saving Books

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Since deciding to start a library of living books, I've come to see myself as a book rescuer. I am continually amazed at the treasures I find at thrift stores and library sales. I just don't understand why people get rid of such lovely books. Have they not read them? I've recently found two brand-new looking copies of James Herriot's Treasury for Children. Do people not even open them? Surely if they'd read the stories to their children, they would realize they should keep it forever and pass it on to their grandchildren. Have you read All Creatures Great and Small? If not, you should. I have several copies of all of James Herriot's books because I just can't leave them behind. Those books are just the tip of the iceberg.

This week I discovered a Little Free Library on the way to my daughter's ballet class. My children assured me that it's been there for quite a while, but apparently we're always running late enough that I wasn't able to notice it before. Anyway, Isaac and I took a walk around the block when we dropped Emma off one day, and stopped to take a peek at the books inside this little treasure box. I found it delightful to find another book saver and sharer so close to home.

I found two things of interest: Legends of the Outer Banks and Tar Heel Tidewater by Charles H. Whedbee, and Worldy Goods by Lisa Jardine. Since we live in North Carolina, I thought the former would be interesting to read with my children. I chose the latter because we'll be studying the Renaissance next school year, and I thought it sounded interesting. The cover promises "a radical interpretation of the Renaissance." I have no idea what that means, but I am going to find out!

After we walked around the block, looked at all the little flowers blooming and borrowed books, we headed over to the "real" library to pay some fines (oops) and check out the little sale shelf they have. I don't usually find much there, but this time I did! The most exciting one, for sure, was The Young United States by Edward Tunis.

Edwin Tunis was an artist, a radio announcer, an engineer... he did lots of things.
The little bits of biographical information said he'd tried to be a commercial artist, but lacked a certain "snappy" style, so he became a freelancer. He wrote his first book when he discovered, while researching a mural on the history of spices, that "there was no one book which recounted the whole basic story of the development of ships in a simple way that might interest young people." So, he wrote and illustrated one, and Oars, Sails and Steam was born.

The real treasures found in Mr. Tunis' books are the illustrations. They are simply beautiful. Take a look:

Ferry

Log Cabin

Empire Dresses and a Postal Rider

Train

I don't often find wonderful things on those little shelves at the library, but when I find gems like this one, it makes it worth the times there is naught but twaddle. Have you found book treasures in unexpected places?

REVIEW: Captivated DVD from MediaTalk 101

Lately, I've felt the need to do something about the amount of media usage in our house. We are a techie family - my husband is a computer guy and loves all things technology, so we have a plethora of devices floating around the house and we love to use them. We also watch a fair amount of television. God has been showing me there are better ways we could spend our time, and the opportunity to review the DVD movie Captivated from Media Talk 101 came at the perfect time to foster discussion on this issue in my family.

Captivated is a documentary written, produced and co-directed by Phillip Telfer, a pastor who travels with his family around the country, teaching on the impact of media in our culture and the growing need for discernment. He created Captivated to address these issues. Throughout the film, we hear from many different people, including scientists, ministry directors, pastors, professors, authors, and regular people who share stories of how media affected their lives and their ultimate response to it.

The movie itself contains four sections: Consumption, Content, Battleground, and Freedom. There are many statistics shared, and all of them are supported by research. Here are some that stood out to me:

• The screen time for the average American child is over 53 hours per week, and the average high school graduate will have seen anywhere from 18,000-20,000 hours of television. That means they will have spent more time in front of a television than in a classroom.
• The more television a child watches before the age of 3, the more likely they are to have short attention spans when they start school.
• Media (specifically referencing high-action video games and HDTV) drains blood away from the executive center of the brain, producing the same effect as crack (without the brain damage), giving you a sense of accomplishment when you have done nothing.
• More than 50 years of research shows that content can be harmful to children.
• Video game addiction parallels gambling addition.

I watched the movie first with my husband, and we both felt the need to make some changes in ourselves and in our family. We're not quite ready to get rid of the television and everything else, but we did start having family devotionals in the morning together, and we're turning "Family Movie Night" into "Family Game Night." We're also discussing setting more limits on screen time, simply because it's far too easy for all of us to spend too much time in front of a screen, whether it's the TV, a computer, or a tablet. 

I also watched it with my girls (and my son, but he was bored, built a blanket tent and tried to trap the cats), and it made for a lot of good discussion. My 13-year-old said it made her want to put a giant piece of paper over the TV screen. Interestingly, my 14-year-old was quite resistant to the idea of reducing or eliminating screen time, so we will explore that a bit more. That tells me there is a problem, and a need to address it.

The movie is 107 minutes long, and isn't broken into as many "chapters" as most. You can navigate by choosing one of the four categories (Consumption, Content, Battleground, Freedom), and the credits. There are over 2 hours of special features, too, including extended interviews with 9 of the people you hear from in the movie, as well as "A Word from the Producer" that tells you who he is and how he came to make the movie. It's an excellent movie to watch and discuss as a family, and I could see it being used as a Bible study in churches or in a parent group. While some of the speakers may seem to take a somewhat extreme point of view, it's worth considering their position and remembering this is their passion.

The movie doesn't provide a bulleted list of steps to take to improve or "fix" a media consumption problem in your house. If you're like me, you will have lots of thoughts swirling in your head, and will be looking for some clear direction, Really, each family needs to evaluate their own situation and determine what, if any, steps need to be taken. You will hear a lot about "unplugging." They also make it clear that when you remove something, you need to replace it with something else, and I see a need to be intentional about what replaces screen time.

I appreciated hearing from one family, who shared their experience with their annual 30 day "media fast," in which they turn off everything - computers, TV, music, all of it. The first year, the children responded with some trepidation, but it sounds like they have all come to appreciate it and even look forward to it. There are several other individuals who share their experiences with various types of media addiction and why they chose to give them up. I also loved the statement that families have been entertaining each other for thousands of years - they would gather around, play and sing music, perhaps dance, play games - all in community. I feel starved for community in my life, and while I don't blame it entirely on media, I know I need to make some changes.

There is much food for thought here. Parenting can be a tough gig, and media can be a difficult subject to address. As with anything, we will take what is right for our family from what we've learned from Captivated. I'm grateful for this resource, because it has opened the door for discussion in way that may not have been possible otherwise.

Captivated is available from Media Talk 101 for $16.95, and they're running a special right now that allows you to purchase a second copy for just $5. If you're interested, check out www.mediatalk101.org, where they have lots of articles and ideas for you.

I'm going to leave you with this video clip from the movie, which addresses my main concern: relationships. Take a look - I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Connect with Media Talk 101 on Facebook and Twitter!

Click to read more reviews from the Schoolhouse Crew!

Blogging Essentials Giveaway!

Hosted by : The Squishable Baby

What is the Boost Your Blog in 100 Day Event?

Boost Your Blog in 100 Days (#BB100) was created by Something2Offer.  This event consists of a number of mini-challenges on topics ranging from Grammar Mistakes Bloggers Make and Creating Original Content - to how to be a smart social media guru on Facebook, Twitter and Google+.  The overall goal of this event is to help everyone improve their blogging skills in a wide range of areas.

Welcome to the 

Blogging Essentials Giveaway Challenge!

The giveaway challenge runs from April 13-23, 2014.  During that time I will offer a giveaway, and will post tips on improving your giveaways.  For the giveaway, I have brought together a collection of phenomenal items which will give 1 blogger a professional start (or overhaul) to their blog.  This prize package is worth $440 and is open worldwide!  The Prize Package includes A blog design/redesign or SEO work-up by Amber Galore Designs, a 1-year subscription to Picmonkey so that you can make professional images, 1-year subscription to Inlinkz so that you can create blog hops, linky parties and giveaway hops, 1-hour Consultation with Amazing Success Academy which will help get your organized and on track, 1-year of free ad swaps from Passionfruit Ads, and two wonderful and helpful ebooks from Frantic Mommy (Creating Awesome Sharable Images with Picmonkey and Eliminate Overwhelm and get Organized with Trello).

Would You Like to Promote this Giveaway?

Here are the guidelines:

1. Grab the Blogger Opp HTML and post the announcement on your blog.  Find the HTML here.
2. Sign-up for the giveaway and report the "blogger opp" post here.
3. Post the Giveaway on April 13th by 9 AM EST, and report your post by 12:00 PM EST on the on April 13th.  The link for the report will be sent when I send you the email.
4. Promote the giveaway on Twitter AND Facebook 4 times per week.  To pre-schedule your tweets and status updates, try Hootsuite.  It's a free service!  The Giveaway lasts a total of 10 days.
5. Keep all the links intact.  The sponsors have already been no-followed.
6. All participating bloggers CAN enter the giveaway.
7. Other links can be purchased for $3 each or 2 links/$5.

Giveaways are a group effort and promotion is key.  If you do not report, or promote, your links will be deleted.

The Challenge - Who will be left standing at the end?

The Squishable Baby, the Bloggers participating in the Boost your Blog Challenge, and any other participating bloggers are not responsible for prize distribution.

REVIEW: Spelling You See

I have a confession. I have an addiction to spelling and reading programs. I majored in linguistics in college, and I love to see how different programs teach children the intricacies of the English language. (I have a similar addiction to grammar curricula.) I was excited to learn about a new program from Demme Learning - Mr. Steve Demme of Math-U-See fame - called Spelling You See. Isaac and I were privileged to review Spelling You See: Listen and Write (Level A), and we received copies of the Teacher's Manual and Student Pack, which includes the Student Workbook, the Guide to Handwriting, and the Listen and Write Sticker Pack.

We worked on his pages several days per week. He liked being creative with his letters - you can see in the picture his large "s." "Look at my super big 's,' Mommy. Isn't it cool?" I know we're supposed to be working on perfection, but he makes me laugh with his "ideas." This is the first time he's shown willingness to do any "real school," so I was thrilled.

This level has short lessons, which is perfect for him. Prior to starting the program, he knew all his letter sounds (consonants and short vowels) very well, but had not shown any interest in reading. Now that we've been using Spelling You See for a few weeks, he loves to show all the words he knows, writes them on things other than his school work, and is willing to read words here and there when we read books together. I will point at a word, and he will look at it and sound it out. He's so very proud of himself!

This program is a great complement to any phonics program. It incorporates beginning phonics skills, as well as handwriting, and introduces the concept of dictation. It's very close to what Isaac and I would be working on according to a Charlotte Mason philosophy of education: perfecting single letters and writing short words.

There are 36 weekly lessons, with one page per day to complete. The first three weeks of Level A focus on on proper letter formation and consonant sounds. You can use the handwriting guide included with the program, or you can use your preferred handwriting style. The handwriting guide provides a continuous-stroke printing font that looks like a blend of modern and traditional printing. Level A goes through beginning blends, digraphs, end blends, and double consonant endings. With each new concept, the lessons start out with the square for the vowel shaded, but as they progress all squares are unshaded.

Spelling You See has no grade levels, so you can start where your student needs to begin without worrying about them feeling "behind." It focuses on creating visual memory of words and how they are correctly spelled, which is a natural way of learning. It is an open-and-go program; you really don't need anything but the teacher's manual and student workbook. It does require teacher involvement, but we all do spelling together anyway (my older girls do studied dictation). Isaac loves to do things with me, so this was perfect for us.

There are currently six levels of Spelling You See available:

Level A: Listen and Write
Teacher's Manual: $14
Student Pack: $20

Level B: Jack and Jill
Teacher's Manual: $16
Student Pack: $30

Level C: Wild Tales
Teacher's Manual: $14
Student Pack: $30

Level D: Americana
Teacher's Manual: $14
Student Pack: $30

Level E: American Spirit
Teacher's Manual: $14
Student Pack: $30

You can see sample pages for each level currently available at the links above, and read more about the Spelling You See philosophy as well as how to get started on their website. Two more levels are in the works, too: Level F: Ancient Achievements and Level G: Modern Milestones. If you're looking for a spelling curriculum, this might be it!

Connect with Spelling You See on Facebook and Twitter!

Click to read more reviews from the Schoolhouse Crew!

Garden Progress!

I few weeks ago, I mentioned we were starting our very first garden by making some origami pots from newspaper, in order to plant some seeds. I have a very low-tech seed starting setup. I put the pots in disposable 9"x13" cake pans, which came with plastic lids that served to make mini-greenhouses. I used coconut fiber seed starting medium in the pots and planted the seeds. I hadn't planned on using lights, but my sister told me her seeds sprouted much more quickly with one, so I decided to try it. I went to a local home improvement store, and asked for grow lights. They showed me some large shop light fixtures and fluorescent tubes, but I had no place to hang the fixtures. I ended up getting clamp-on shop lights with the strongest daylight bulbs I could find. My wonderful husband found a light timer for me, so I don't have to remember to turn them on and off. Guess what? I have PLANTS GROWING! I know this is the expected result, but I have not done well with seedlings in the past. I have either drowned or dried many, many seedlings to death. This time around, I have LOTS of little plants growing and they're getting more than two leaves!  I have hope they may actually live long enough to be planted outside.

I have a hard time keeping myself limited to a reasonable number of kinds of plants to grow. I really want to grow tomatoes, and I know it will be easier to do so if I buy tomato plants, but I couldn't resist starting some seeds. I found Green Zebra tomato seeds, Yellow Pear tomato seeds, and purple tomatillo seeds! I have no idea what to do with purple tomatillos, but I had to try to grow some. So far, I have plants of all three types growing.

I also have some watermelon plants, some peas, and some very gangly green bean plants. Since I planted the beans, I've learned it's not necessary to start those inside because they sprout so quickly. I can affirm that. Heh. I have some dragon beans that I will plant outside when we get dirt for the beds, and cucumbers, and a few other things.

This week, my parents visited to celebrate the girls' birthdays with us, and my dad built two little raised beds for me. They are 3' by 3'. When we put them outside, we will put landscape fabric in the bottom, which will keep weeds from growing into the soil and also keep the dirt from eroding from underneath the frames. My dad also built little covers for them out of PVC pipe and "critter netting." Hopefully, those will keep any marauding animals from eating my plants or my produce.

I'm really excited about my little gardens! I will share pictures when we get them set up with dirt and planted.

Win a Family Registration for the NCHE Conference!

Have you been thinking about attending the North Carolinians for Home Education Conference in Winston-Salem in May? Are you on the fence about going? Wondering if you should take the plunge?

You most definitely SHOULD come, and I'm thrilled to offer you a chance to win a family registration to the conference! I'm going for the first time myself this year, and am excited to be one of the official conference bloggers. I am looking forward to seeing some old friends and making some new ones.

Are you considering homeschooling for the first time? The NCHE Conference is the perfect place to connect with other homeschoolers and ask your questions. You will receive a lot of encouragement, and learn how easy it is to get started with your family.

Are you a seasoned homeschooler, perhaps in need of some fresh inspiration? Maybe you just need to know you're not alone on this journey, you are not losing your mind, you're not ruining your kids... we all have that list that niggles at the back of our minds. Come and join us for some fellowship and fun!

There are going to be MANY excellent speakers this year, and I'm looking forward to hearing Dr. Anthony B. Bradley, Todd Wilson, Diana Waring, Andrew Kern and Andrew Pudewa, among others. You can see the featured speaker list here, and the list of additional speakers here. And don't forget to check out the Children's Conference!

Let us not forget my very favorite part - THE BOOK FAIR! You can peruse all kinds of curriculum choices, and one of my very favorite sellers of living books will be there, too. I cannot wait.

What are you waiting for? Enter the giveaway, go print your conference schedule and start planning which sessions you'll attend. Hope to see you there!

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Birthdays and Books

This post contains affiliate links.

Both my girls have birthdays this next week. I will have TWO teenagers by Friday - 13 and 14 year old girls! For some reason, my oldest turning 14 is much more difficult for me than it was when she turned 13. I think it's because she will be officially *gulp* in high school next year. However, I don't call her a high schooler or a freshman. I call her a 9th grader. Somehow it seems easier to accept that way. Don't analyze; just go with it.

I try to give books for any gift-giving occasion, and for some reason, I've struggled to come up with the perfect books for them this year. I have been reading Anne of Green Gables and other books from this lovely $0.99 Kindle book recently, and thought Anne of Green Gables would be a nice choice. I also considered A Wrinkle In Time by Madeleine L'Engle, one of my childhood (and adulthood) favorites. Alas, my mom and sister called asking for ideas too, so I believe they are going to provide those. It was back to the drawing board for me!

I asked homeschool friends and reader friends, and received some great suggestions. And then, thanks to all the help, I figured out what I believe to be the right books.

For my oldest girlie, I plan to get the first three books in the Sisters Grimm series: The Fairy Tale Detectives, The Unusual Suspects, and The Problem Child. These are fun books, and she likes mysteries. I think she will enjoy the connections to the fairy tales we've read and loved. They might be twaddle, but they are fun twaddle, and I'm looking forward to sharing them with her.

After all that deliberating, I changed my mind for my soon-to-be 14-year-old. Her favorite book to date is Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones. I didn't realize there are two books that continue the story, Castle in the Air and House of Many Ways. I decided to get those for her, and I know she will enjoy them. And so will I, if she will agree to let me borrow them when she's done.

For my younger daughter, I've decided on Norton Juster's Phantom Tollbooth. I read this book for the first time a few years ago when my girls were too young for it. I liked it so much, I bought the audio book, which is excellent. I think she will enjoy the word play in this book. I'm also going to get another book by the same author titled Alberic the Wise and Other Journeys. I haven't read it yet, but I like Juster's writing and think she will too. The added bonus is that I can read it when she's done with it!

What books have your teens enjoyed? I'd love to add to my list of books for them to read!

Star Chronicles Giveaway! ($275 Value)

Dawnita Fogleman is a homeschooling mom of six living in "Nowhere, Oklahoma," as she describes it, and has just published her first book, Star Chronicles. Her book shows information about constellations without astrology. I'm privileged to be on her launch team, and my kids and I are enjoying going through the book. I've been interested in astronomy for a long time, and this book has been a great starting point for us. 

Star Chronicles Giveaway

To celebrate the upcoming release of Star Chronicles, I am excited to join the Star Chronicles Launch Team in sharing this fantastic giveaway, a perfect compliment to the Star Chronicles study and just plain fun for your homeschool! 

Here's what you can win: 

• Star Chronicles: A Bible-Based Study of the Stars (paperback) $20

• Celestron 70mm Travel Scope, sponsored by the following blogs: Ben and Me, Our Simple Kinda Life, Tots and Me, Marriage, Motherhood and Missions, Acorn Hill Academy, Family, Faith and Fridays, Our Homeschool Studio, As He Leads Is Joy, Angels of Heart, My So-Called Homeschool Life, Best Homeschool Academy by Mom to 3+2 Adopted Sibs, There Will Be a $5 Charge for Whining, Life Off the Paved Road $60

• Astronomy and Space Unit Study and Lapbook + $30 gift certificate from A Journey Through Learning $42.50

• Nature Study Bundle from Shining Dawn Books, including: Captivating Clouds, Remarkable Rain, and Flying Creatures of the Night $27

• Moonfinder by Jay Ryan $15

• 31 Organizing Utility Tote  in Sea Plaid $30

• DVD Collection from 2 Kingdoms/Cathy Friedlander, including Seed Messiah, He Calleth Them All by Their Names, I Want to Explore, Raton Pass Hummingbirds, But Ask Now the Beasts, and Tzon El: Our Zionist Dream $80

A total value of $275!

Enter to win!

To enter, use the Rafflecopter below. Residents of the U. S. and Canada (excluding Quebec), age 18 and older only. See Rafflecopter for additional terms and conditions. 

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REVIEW: Mango Languages Homeschool Edition

Latha math! (That's "hello" in Scottish Gaelic.) Foreign language is one of those subjects I have not taught consistently. I've had the best of intentions to start teaching my children Latin and French, and it's never quite happened. We've done a little Spanish, but nothing for long. I have avoided online foreign language programs, because I would prefer to keep us off the computer as much as possible, but I just had to give Mango Homeschool Edition from Mango Languages  a try. For the purpose of this review, I received a one-year subscription for three students. I signed up my daughters and myself, and we began European French.

The program is intended for children ages 6 and up, even adults. They offer all levels of coursework, which makes them a great option for any grade level, but particularly for those of us trying to figure out how to homeschool high school. Because it's browser-based, it works on both Apple computers and PCs.

We decided to make our French lessons part of our morning time, and did the program together orally. My girls and I had a little competition going to see who could remember things first as we went through the lessons. We had a LOT of fun. Even my 6 year old joined in and learned along with us. He frequently comes up to me and says things like, "Mom, I know how to say 'â bientôt!' It means 'see you later!'" I am impressed by what he's picked up, because honestly, he's not all that interested in sitting still and participating with us most of the time. He's usually playing with blocks or trucks while we are speaking French to each other, although he will sometimes say things along with us.

There is no written component to this program, but European French does come with a Course Guide for each of the three levels. I printed those, and have had my girls copying out the sentences as we learn them, so they see how the words are spelled and become familiar with the sentence structure. It makes good copywork for them.

While we chose to work on French together, Mango's language programs are structured so that students are able to work independently. A few times, when we got started later than usual, I sent the girls to do their school work and asked them to do French on their own. They were able to do it with no problems at all.


I also took a look at Scottish Gaelic. I didn't have as much time to spend on this as I'd hoped, but it was still fun. I've always wanted to learn Gaelic. At this time, there is only one level of Gaelic available, but that's a lot more than I know right now!

I like the way the program works. I wasn't sure, at first, because it's completely different from the way I learned French. However, right from the beginning, students learn things like formal vs. familiar methods of addressing other people, and how to construct simple sentences. You don't sit down and conjugate verbs, but you learn the different verb forms as you listen and respond in the lesson conversations. It's a more natural method of language learning, I think, than sitting down with a textbook, even when there is audio available. The phrases we learned initially were greetings, so we can have simple conversations with each other. It's a great way to practice.

What did my girls think?

• They both enjoyed using the program.
• They both thought a written component would be helpful. My oldest daughter has spent the most time writing the phrases we learned into a notebook, and she said it helped her a lot.

We reviewed what you might call the "beta" version of Mango's Homeschool Edition. They offer more than 60 different languages! The lessons are all recorded by native speakers, which makes such a difference in language learning. There is phonetic spelling available on demand, so you can see how it's pronounced in phonetic spelling like you'd see in a dictionary. That's extremely helpful. Sometimes I had a hard time hearing, thanks to years of college marching band, so the phonetic spelling gave me some much-needed hints. Along with conversation and grammar, there are cultural insights, customs and etiquette. One particularly nice feature is the voice comparison tool. It allows you to speak into a microphone and see how your accent compares to the native speaker's. We learned that we do need a separate microphone for that; our computer's microphone didn't pick up enough.

You may have seen Mango Languages at your local library. That's where they started, and they've grown from there. At the library, you may not have access to all the languages Mango offers, and only one level is available for any language through the library system. The homeschool version has all languages and levels, and the community feature, which isn't available through the library.

Mango's vision is to have a community for language learning, where students not only work on lessons, but are able to interact with others learning the same language and eventually with people who know the language well. Currently, the program offers these features:

• Progress assessments
• Built-in journals, discussions and wikis
• Collaborative learning spaces
• eNote messaging/chat rooms
• Access to embedded/downloadable content
• Support from other community members
• Calendars to schedule meetings or study groups

Additionally, over the next few months, they plan to add lots of new features, like enhanced tracking and progress monitoring, including seat time, for students and parents; goals and personal lesson plans (both stand-alone and tied into Mango courses), and a resume and portfolio builder.

Overall, I'm not sure I would use this program on its own, but it's a perfect complement to go along with any curriculum. You have access to as many languages as you want to try. I am fascinated with languages (I majored in linguistics in college) so I feel like a kid in a candy store when I look at all the languages I could explore with Mango.  They have Ancient Greek! Ancient Hebrew! Pirate! (Yes, Pirate!) Malayalam! I don't even know what Malayalam is, but now I want to learn. I love the idea of a language-learning community, where you can ask questions and talk to others learning the same languages.

Here is the pricing structure for subscriptions to the Mango Homeschool Edition:

• 1 subscription - $18 per month or $125 per year
• 2 subscriptions - $28 per month or $175 per year
• 3 subscriptions - $38 per month or $225 per year
• 4 subscriptions - $48 per month or $275 per year
• 5 subscriptions - $58 per month or $325/year total
• 6 or more subscriptions - special group rate, dependent on the number in your group

Obviously, there are significant savings when you sign up for a year rather than making monthly payments. I hope you'll take a look!

Connect with Mango on Twitter, Pinterest and Facebook!

Click to read more reviews from the Schoolhouse Crew!

Praying Mantis Update

I have some sad news. The last of our praying mantis babies died this week. We only had three left, and it seemed that they were trying to shed their first skins, and couldn't get them off. I did a little research, and it sounds like they needed more moisture in their environment.

This certainly has been a learning experience. Hopefully we will be able to do a little better if either of our other two egg cases hatch. I was so very sad to lose that last little bug today, though. So were the kids.

REVIEW: Amazing Science DVD

My little man, who is currently 6 years of age, loves to do "experiments." If I don't have an actual science activity for him to do, he makes up his own. That can get messy. I'm not the greatest at coming up with experiments, to be honest, so I was delighted to have the chance to review Amazing Science, Vol. 1 from ScienceandMath.com. I received a physical copy of the 2-DVD set to review. There are 23 different videos, covering such topics as electricity, magnetism, heat, and more.

This DVD set is aimed at grades 1-3, but these science experiments are great for any age, really. I hadn't done most of them before, and I enjoyed them quite as much as my son! He would get the DVD and pop it in every day, to see what we were going to do next.

Mr. Jason Gibson is the scientist who presents the experiments.  He has degrees in physics and electrical engineering, and was actually a rocket scientist for NASA! In each video, Mr. Gibson gives the materials list, shows the complete experiment, and explains the science behind what you're doing. I had to laugh at Isaac; he had no interest whatsoever in the explanations and really just wanted to get on with the cool part. I, on the other hand, learned a lot and had a great time!

When we did the first experiment, "Color-Changing milk, I went and got whole milk (recommended in the video), and then we set to work. I was amazed at how carefully Isaac did exactly what he had been shown in the video. He *loved* that experiment, even though I only had yellow and green food coloring for the first run. He got to mix it all up and make "green milk" at the end, which he thought was fantastic. He enjoyed the experiment so much, we had to do it again when Grammy and Papa were visiting so they could see, too. (It was a bit of a trick to find non-gel food coloring. I located it with the spices, rather than with the cake decorating things, FYI.)

Check out this video of the color changing milk experiment:




The next experiment we did was "Egg in a Bottle." My husband was home to help with this one, which is always fun. We lit the matches, dropped them in the jar, placed the hard-boiled egg on top, and watched it squish itself right down into the bottle, even though it clearly did NOT fit through the mouth of the bottle before dropping the matches in there.  We actually did this experiment several times, because my science-loving husband knew if he blew really hard into the bottle, he would reverse the process and force the egg back out.  We have done it again since, too, which has resulted in us getting to eat a lot of deviled eggs, because I'm not going to boil just one egg at a time!

Another fun one was the "Floating Egg" experiment. This one was so simple, and yet did a great job illustrating buoyancy. Mr. Gibson explained how the salt dissolved in one glass didn't really go away, so the water in there weighed more. Because it weighed more, there was a stronger buoyant force pushing back against the egg, so it was able to float. Simple, but fascinating!

The experiments shown on these DVDs are my idea of fun, living science. You get to see how the experiments work, with clear, simple explanations. I watched the videos with Isaac, but in the future, I might set them up for him, let him run them (with help as necessary), and have him narrate what happens. Then, we can watch the videos and hear the explanations. The supplies you need are readily available, and if you don't have them at home you can find them easily. It's fun to go through the experiments sequentially on the DVDs, but you could also use the DVDs as a resource and pull out experiments to go along with whatever science program you're using. My girls enjoyed doing these experiments with us, and they are old enough (12 and 13) to do the experiments on their own and keep a science journal with the steps and results. My girls were able to do these with my little man, too, and they all enjoyed that. I could see this being a great resource for co-op situations, as well.

Amazing Science Vol. 1 is available from ScienceandMath.com for $17.95, and as a digital download for $14.99.

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Praying Mantis Update

Well, we're down to three surviving mantis babies from our first egg case. I'm not quite sure what happened, except that perhaps I didn't get them the right food quickly enough. I had been feeding them ground beef, but read that it didn't have enough chitin in it, which is apparently something insects need. I started looking for alternatives, and the recommendations I found online were that we use either pinhead crickets or flightless fruit flies. Isaac and I drove to an exotic pet store, hoping they'd have something, but all they could offer were mealworms - which are, frankly, disgusting, and far too big for the mantis babies. They told me to go to Petco and get flightless fruit flies. When we got to Petco and inspected the flies, I observed that while they cannot fly, they do JUMP, much like fleas. I decided to try "extra small" crickets, in the hope that the mantises could handle those.

Alas, it was not to be. While the crickets were shorter in length than the mantis babies, they were much wider. Most of the little mantids were afraid of the crickets, and the one I did see try to catch one was unable to do so because the cricket was just too wide for it to grab with its little hooks. Back to Petco I went for the fruit flies.

At that point, we had separated as many babies as we could into individual pint and jelly jars, because the population was decreasing steadily as the carnivorous little beasties ate each other. It is quite a trick trying to get fruit flies into small jars. There are always escapees, and there are several out and about in my house now. Unfortunately, even though we'd finally found a good source of food for them, the remaining little mantids kept dying off. At this point, we have one left in a jelly jar, and two left in our butterfly enclosure. The three remaining ones seem to be doing well. We take each one out now and then, and talk to it, and let it climb around on us for some extra exercise. They really are cute.

We still have two more egg cases, so if they hatch, at least we have food ready for them. It's been a good lesson in why God would have so many would hatch at once, because their little lives are so fragile, you need lots of them so that at least a few have a chance to survive until adulthood. We were hoping to raise one for each of us, but now I will be thrilled if even one of them lives to be an adult!

REVIEW: Talking Shapes App from Talking Fingers

My 6 year old boy (that says a lot right there, doesn't it?) does not like anything that looks like actual school work. I try to keep lessons short and fun, but at the end of the day, he still has to hold his pencil properly and do his best to write his letters, you know? This child in particular responds really well to technology-based learning, and while that doesn't thrill me sometimes, there are a lot of great apps out there. One of them is the Talking Shapes iPad app from Talking Fingers, Inc. I received a copy of the app for free so I could review it for you. It's intended for preschool to kindergarten aged children.

The app starts out with a story about two girls and how they invented the alphabet. They come up with pictures for the letters, and as they introduce each letter, the child has to trace the letters with their finger.

In this first story, the child learns 6 phonemes: C, A, T, F, H and S. Here are their pictures:

Aren't they cute? I love the concept of associating a letter with a picture. As they learn the letters and corresponding pictures, the child is asked to say the word describing the picture - for example, INCHWORM, which goes with "I." Then, when they practice drawing  "I," they can tap on the picture of the inchworm and hear themselves saying the word. We had a little trouble getting my iPad to hear us say the words, but I think that's because my case covers up the microphone somehow.

When you open the app, there are three options on the main screen: "Read to Me," which allows you to choose which story you'd like to hear; "Draw Letters," in which you choose which of the three stories you'd like to practice tracing the letters; and "Play Game," which, naturally, takes you to the game for the book you select.

When playing the games, the child first drags letter pictures down
to squares to spell words. Then, the little story is shown, and the words that teach the phonemes for that book are highlighted, one at a time, in red, then removed from the picture. Balloons, chickens with flapping wings, and flying pigs (depending on the story) move across the screen with different words in them, all from the story, and the child has to read the words and choose the correct one to fill in the blank. I will say that I found the chickens distracting. Their shapes were a little too small and the flapping wings made it hard to read the words. Isaac didn't seem to mind, though. Once the game has been completed, a fun little scene plays at the bottom of the screen. Isaac loved those and would replay them over and over just to laugh at them.

The only drawback I found was that when drawing the letters, Isaac figured out quickly that all he had to do was scribble with his finger until the letter outlines were filled in. The app didn't require him to trace the letters. Once I saw that, I made sure to have him trace the letters properly. I would love to see the app require actual tracing. This app is certainly not our only source for handwriting practice, but it does seem like a child would get more out of writing the letter with their finger.

Isaac loves this app. We used it most days, and he was willing to spend a few minutes to go through one part each day - on the first day we'd do the story, the next day we'd work on drawing letters, then finally playing the games. I have seen significant improvement in his ability to put letters together to form words since we started working with it. He enjoyed it, too. Even while I was looking through the app as I wrote my review, he came over to see what I was doing and play with me. It's a nice addition to any reading program, and provides interactive learning with a fun way for a child to practice letter sounds and word building.

• The app is available from the iTunes store for $5.99.
• Connect with Talking Fingers on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube!

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