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Five Finds Friday (a word you may have to look up to define & a tiny ax)
“… it just seemed as if she were marking time while life rocketed past.” ― Soheir Khashoggi, Nadia’s Song FUNNY There are a lot of homeschool days that don’t shine like stars in the universe. There’s plenty of mundane and must get done and should have done better and how can you not already know this. I don’t feel like writing about those days today though. I’ll keep having to live them, of course, but I just don’t, at this second, care to write about them. Instead, this week at the dining room table, we had a genuinely funny homeschool moment. (And it was sorely needed…
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Uncle Sam and You: A Timberdoodle Review
I’ve always enjoyed our Ambleside and Charlotte Mason inspired history “curriculum”, which is actually not a traditional curriculum at all, but a guided list of non text book readings about history and historical characters. The past two years we have enjoyed the whole family approach of the Simply Charlotte Mason history guides. I admit, I did find myself a little nervous when I found myself staring at the trio of middle schoolers and wondering if we had studied history “enough”. Pretty sure this is a common homeschooling parent’s fear and, although it plagues me from time to time, it is not one that rests too heavily for too long…
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The Fallacy Detective: A Timberdoodle Review
I can’t believe my year working with Timberdoodle is drawing to a close. A year? I mean, we aren’t quite there yet – but almost! Every item I’ve received from Timberdoodle has been a new-to-me choice. Until this review. The Fallacy Detective was a logic book that I purchased and worked through wth Riley back in the day. I held on to that book actually – when I let most of her curriculum go as I quickly morphed into primarily using exclusively Charlotte Mason methods with the younger kids. My copy is an older version and this edition from Timberdoodle has a workbook inside the book itself,…
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Aquarelle: A Timberdoodle Review
Watercolor is one of those artistic endeavors that both intimidates and frustrates me. The intimidation part stems from the fact that I find blending colors and controlling the amount of water vs. the amount of color difficult. That color wheel graphic just doesn’t live icy mind as vividly as it does in an artist’s mind. The frustrating part comes from the mess watercolor can cause. The drippy paintbrushes on the kitchen table. The soggy paper that sticks to the table if I forget to put something else down first. Some place to dry the art for a few days. You know, all those details. But – lest…
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Jump In: A Workbook for Reluctant & Eager Writers – A Timberdoodle Review
My favorite way to teach good writing to junior high students is through good reading. I love to incorporate narration from the novels the kids are reading and to have them grow accustomed to reading well written words, which, in turn, hopefully leads them to writing well written words of their own. But sometimes it’s also really helpful to have a little guide – a handbook, if you will. I was excited to add Jump In: A Workbook for Reluctant and Eager Writers from Timberdoodle into my curriculum this year because sometimes I can forget what expectations are appropriate to have for my junior high writers. This workbook is…
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Five Finds Friday (stopping to smell the roses)
Well this week was a long one – eh? FUNNY I don’t know you guys. Lots of funny things happened this week at our house. Lots of non-funny things happened too. We laugh a lot here. We read poems to make us laugh – Shel Silverstein is still a favorite. We have a billion and two inside jokes that crack us up. Lately we’ve been going old-school with Mad Libs and those silly stories have us rolling. But I don’t have anything real or solid for you today. I’m tired this week. A lot of moving parts to this week’s schedule have me sleepy and in…
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Kid Coder: A Timberdoodle Review
KidCoder is a complete program sold by Timberdoodle that offers an online web design course. The target age for KidCoder is 4th grade and up and it comes as part of the 8th grade curriculum if you prefer to order your curriculum whole. This summer I had London, my eighth grader, begin the KidCoder course, knowing that this review would come due in the fall and I wanted to be able to have given it a good go before I commented on it. Just like Bloxels, I really handed this one over to London because the point for me was to have a web design program that…
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two days. two stories.
Yesterday I dropped my phone. On a rock. Without a case. It’s my own fault. I like the phone case-less. I’ve been warned. One bazillion and three times by friends and family and strangers. “Get a case,” they said. “It’s too big of a risk,” they said. I’ve had a case handed to me actually. I put it on my phone in their presence to appease their concern. (Sorry Sarah and Brian.) And then I removed it. It’s been just fine for a good long run. A really good long run. But yesterday I was helping my son carry water out for the chickens. I was about to run…
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The Puzzleball Globe: A Timberdoodle Review
Our family loves puzzles. Every year for Christmas there will be a puzzle under the Christmas tree. Actually, I prefer to leave the puzzle under the tree, all wrapped up, until the day after Christmas. And then, on that quiet day-after morning, there’s one present left to open. Perfect for the after Christmas crash, we can just hang around the kitchen table, eat holiday leftovers and work lazily on a puzzle together. The last wrapped gift is a puzzle – and we all know it – but no one knows what the subject of the puzzle will be. (I like to match the puzzle’s theme to the previous year…
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Bloxels: A Timberdoodle Review
Perhaps this review should begin with a confession. I have hardly looked at Bloxels. I read the description of it on the website when Timberdoodle offered it for a review. (You can order it by itself of course, or it comes as part of the second grade curriculum kit.) I thought, “I bet my kids would like that.” Bloxels is a create-your-own-video-game. And my kids – like most human children – are attracted to screens and games. I figured an educational video game could be better than your average video game. When the box arrived the kids were very excited to try it. I wasn’t ready to look…
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Famous Figures of the American Revolution: A Timberdoodle Review
Instant curb appeal. If you can claim that an educational tool has curb appeal – this one does! Famous Figures of the American Revolution – sold by Timberdoodle individually or included in their third grade curriculum kit. I was excited to receive these cut outs in exchange for writing this review. “Mom, can we please open those little guys?” the kids would beg. Before I ever even gave permission to open the book and begin the cutting and pinning they had divided up who would get which historical character – Berg had his eye on Davy Crockett. (Or was it Daniel Boone?) I chose to…
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Doodle Lit: A Timberdoodle Review
Oh you guys, this book hits on all the fun things for me. My favorite parts of homeschool. It’s called Doodle Lit and it comes in Timberdoodle’s 8th Grade Curriculum Kit or you can buy it solo on their website as well. It’s a pretty straightforward book that is a fun take on literature. Lots of classic authors are included – Mark Twain, Shakespeare, Charlotte Bronte, Herman Melville, Jane Austen and so many more. For each author there is a cleverly drawn portrait of that author and then a handful of pages for your student to doodle, draw or create in unique and interesting ways. …
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20 Ways To Draw A Bike: A Timberdoodle Review
I love books like these when I am just judging a book by its cover. I find myself naturally drawn to them on book store shelves. Lots of times I hold them, consider them – and then leave them on the shelf. I think I just don’t know where to fit them in. Which is why it is an extra bonus to me to have an opportunity to receive and review this art book for Timberdoodle. Recently I tucked this charming little book into my bag on an adventure day with my three middle schoolers. (I’m still getting used to saying that.) The younger two kids were at camp…
