TOS Review- Mayan Mysteries

Today I am reviewing Mayan Mysteries by Dig-It Games.  We used the online video game.

The player helps "Team Q" solve mysteries of disappearing artifacts from the Mayan Empire.  The game is geared toward those 11+.  My 13 year old son jumped at the chance to try out a new game.

I was very impressed at how much information there was as the game progressed.  Just some of the topics included Archaeology basics such as tools and excavation, Mayan calendars, tradition, Central American geography and the Mayan math system.  There are so many hyperlinks that each student's experience with the game can be truly unique according to what he/she would like to learn more about.

As the player "travels" to different dig sites or temples, they are learning about Mayan Civilizations and culture and don't even realize it!  Kiddo #2 enjoyed playing the game each day and I was impressed about how much he learned while having fun.  Isn't it wonderful when learning can be fun?  :-)  Kiddo can be quite competitive and definitely wanted to conquer the quizzes and challenges and get to each new "dig."

As a mom and teacher, I liked that students as they are playing, are receiving a study of Mayan civilization and culture while they are being engaged in activities that challenge them in geography, science, math and reading.

I also was pleased to see that there was an encyclopedia in the game that allows the player to delve deeper into issues such as government, farming and Mayan beliefs about calendars and time.

I'm sure your students would enjoy this as a supplement to their studies of ancient cultures.  Dig-It Games also offers a Roman civilization version, which I'm confident is as fun and educational as Mayan Mysteries.  I am a true believer that real learning occurs when it is hands-on, fun and relevant for the student.  Many children today are skilled at and love playing video games.  Why not use that interest and aptitude to achieve an educational objective?  Seems like a no-brainer to me.  Awesome work, Dig-it Games!  :-)

The game is available online for $21.99 or as an IPad app for $9.99.

Thankful Thursday- July 11

Tuesday and Wednesday were fun summer days for which I am grateful.

There was playing with electrical circuits

and an Italian lesson where the kiddos played a game of "Tombola" (Bingo) to help study their verbs. (I even color coded the cards.  The teacher loved the idea)

On Wednesday, we made homemade playdoh (will share the recipe on Tuesday!), and the kiddos enjoyed a nice long time in the pool, followed by breakfast for dinner.  Kiddo #4 loves to make the pancakes.  :-)

I am thankful for relaxing summer nights such as these with nowhere to go, no pressure on what time to eat, etc.

Linking up with ,Lisa at The Army Chap's Wife, NOBH,Miscellany Monday, Raising Homemakers and Modest Mom and Raising Mighty Arrows,, Spilled Milkshake,Crafty Spices,  Mom's Monday Mingle, Monday Mingle, and Just the Stuff Ya Know , the Fontenot Four and A Sorta Fairytale and Family Fun Friday and TGIF Linky Party

TOS Review- Classical Conversations

Today I am reviewing PreScripts Cursive Passages and Illuminations: American Documents  from Classical Conversations.

What an extraordinary, hands-on learning experience!  The book, geared for those up through and including high school, has students refine their cursive handwriting skills as they copy important documents and speeches from American History.  There are so many incredible ones including the Mayflower Compact, the Gettysburg Address, Ronald Reagan's Inaugural Address, and everything in between!  Not only is the student practicing their handwriting skills, but they are learning from a primary source-- the very words of the person him/herself.  I also encouraged my son to do research on the individual and the time period in which he/she lived.

Not only is the student introduced to some of the most famous words in American History, but they are introduced to the practice of illumination (think stunning Medieval manuscripts), so each speech/document that they transcribe becomes their own individual, beautiful work of art.

I was thrilled at how meticulous my teenaged son was in designing/completing his illuminations.  Doesn't it look good?  The documents were great discussion starters and the art aspect was a wonderful and added bonus.

The photos below are some examples of the American documents that are included in the book.  The first one is Henry Cabot Lodge's League of Nations speech from 1919.  The second is Booker T. Washington's Atlanta Exposition Address from 1895.

PreScipts Cursive Passages and Illuminations American Documents is available for $12.99.  I don't think anyone would be disappointed by purchasing this book.  There are literally centuries of American History in its 145+ pages, in the very words of the people who lived it, not a 3rd party textbook source.  I also like that it reinforces two art forms: the writing of cursive and the beauty of illumination.  Cursive is definitely a lost art in today's world.  Most schools have eliminated it entirely (not this homeschool!).  It is "too time consuming" and "kids all use computers anyway." They are creating a generation of functional illiterates who will not be able to read notes that a professor puts on the board or a memo from their boss.  This book makes a "tedious" and "time consuming" subject one that is interesting and forever linked to history.  Hands-on learning works for us here!

Try a New Recipe Tuesday- July 9

This week, Kiddo #4 made us all "Vanilla Frosted Cupcakes". They were VERY good :-)

Cupcake batter
1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter at room temperature (kiddo #4 softened it a little)
2/3 cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/4 cup milk

Preheat the oven to 350. Stir together flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium sized bowl, set aside. Beat the butter, and the sugar in another medium bowl until light and fluffy. Add in the eggs one by one, stirring well after each egg. Add the vanilla extract and the lemon juice, beat well. Add the flour mixture, alternating with milk, and beat till well mixed. Get a cupcake pan and put in muffin cups. Scoop some batter into the muffin pans. Bake for 15-20 minutes. Let them cool on pan for a minute. Then switch to wire rack to cool completely.

Vanilla frosting
3 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup butter, softened
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp milk

Stir in powdered sugar first, butter second, vanilla third, then the milk in a medium sized bowl.

Frost your cupcakes with a knife or you could do designs on them, it's up to you. Decorate them with rainbow sprinkles (optional).

((Recipe typed by Kiddo #4 herself!!!))  :-)


Now for this week's features:

Crockpot BBQ Chicken Tacos at What's Cooking in the Burbs

Cashew and Coconut Cookies at Yummy Inspirations

Sneaky Healthy Cheese Pizza at Mommynificent

Shrimp Alfredo at Mini Me's and Sunshine

Soft and Sweet Sugar Cookie Bars at Peanut Life Adventures

Linking up with the Gathering Spot, Kids in the Kitchen, Tasty Tuesday, Tempt my Tummy Tuesday, Domestically Divine Tuesday, Raising Mighty Arrows,Addicted to Recipes, Homemaking Wednesdays, Living Well Wednesday,NOBH, Judy H-J's Thoughts, Wisdom Wednesday , Favorite Things, Modest Mom, Full Plate Thursday and Melt in your Mouth Monday and Show Off Friday and Tuesday's Table and Look What We Did and Titus 2sday,  Mom's Monday Mingle, Monday Mingle, Crafty Spices, Better Mom,Create with Joy, Thursday's Treasures, Tasty Thursdays and Wonderful Food Wednesday and Mondays with Countrified Hicks and Tuesday How to Party and the Tried and True Recipe Party and Kids and Mom in the Kitchen and Family Fun Friday and Clever Chicks Blog Hop andAll My Bloggy Friends and Hearts for Home Blog Hop and Foodie Friends Friday and Family Fun Friday and TGIF Linky Party

Monday Musings- July 8

It was a good and fun (but extremely HOT!) weekend.  :-)

We were invited to a baseball game on Friday night.  Unfortunately, hubby had to work late and was out in 95+ degree weather all day (he is a letter carrier) and just wasn't up to sitting in it for 3 more hours.  So, we tried to come up with something that would be fun for the kiddos and we could all still be together.  Who would have thought that a dinner/dessert evening at Friendly's could be SO much fun?

Between the chicken tenders on a stick

and the amazing looking (and tasting) desserts, the kids had a blast.  It is a very family-friendly place and the kiddos were literally fawned over by the staff.  :-)

On Saturday afternoon, the kids spent some time in the pool and I actually joined in with them (no pics, though, since I was in the pool with the kiddos and there wasn't anyone else around to take the photo!)  We had a lot of fun and with the heat, the water was actually nice and warm.  :-)

On Sunday after church, we headed to the nature center to release our latest set of butterflies.  When we had only 6 of the 10 caterpillars become butterflies last time, the company stood by their guarantee and send us another 5 caterpillars! Yay!  We were able to witness the amazing metamorphysis all over again.

All of the butterflies in the butterfly house were so friendly, including ours.  They landed on our hands, arms and hair.  There is nothing like a little butterfly kiss!  ;-)  It made the kiddos (and I!) feel a little less sad to let them go when we saw how happy they were to have such a large and new home to live in and thrive for the remaining days of their lives.  And there was a brief biology lesson last night since the kiddos witnessed them mating, lol, so we knew that we wanted to bring them to their new home as soon as possible so a whole new generation could begin.  :-)

If you would be interested in my giveaway of a TOS "Big Mama" Planner and your choice of a student planner, click here to enter.  The giveaway ends in a few days.  And don't forget to come back tomorrow for the "Try a New Recipe Tuesday" linkup.

Hope you had a wonderful weekend!  :-)

Linking up with:  On, in and around Mondays in addition to Wisdom Wednesday, Living Well Wednesday, Mom's Monday Mingle, Monday Mingle, Modest Mom, Crazy Mama, Homemaking Wednesdays and Raising Mighty Arrows and Titus 2sday and Clever Chicks Blog Hop and Memoir Monday and Mondays with Countrified Hicks and Create with Joy , Monday No-Rules Blog Hop,  Mom's Monday Mingle at All She Cooks

Schoolhouse Planners GIVEAWAY!

I am happy to be able to give away one copy of the 800-page Schoolhouse Mama planner AND the winner's choice of one of the Student Planners (there are 4-- Primary, Middle School, High School and Special Learners)

The Mama planner has anything a homeschool mom could possibly want or need to get herself, her home and her homeschool organized.

The planner is completely customizable to YOUR needs.  There are almost 800 pages of unique forms that include calendars, planning pages, grocery lists, menu charts and even education resources such as the periodic table, the U.S. Presidents and grammar and spelling rules!

I downloaded mine last week and have been busy personalizing the pages and look forward to having it all printed and in a binder in time for our new school year.  :-)

You can take a closer look at all of the awesome planners here.

Homeschool Mother's Journal/Weekly Wrap-Up July 5

I hope everyone had a wonderful week!  Lots going on in the Home to 4 Kiddos the last few days. On Saturday, Kiddo #3 helped Dad hook up the soaker hose in the garden.

On Sunday, we bid our pastor goodbye.  There was a prayer service and a dinner immediately following.  He has been the pastor of our church for 21 years.  He is a good and holy man and will be missed.  He assured us all that he will be back to visit.  At almost 76, he deserves a happy and long retirement.  :-)

Kiddo #1 was able to capture a photo of a bright and beautiful visitor to the backyard

The kiddos swam every day and also enjoyed baking

and picking some peas from the garden

We also said goodbye to our kitchen set.  We donated it to the preschool that all of the kiddos attended.  We brought a piece to them a day, as it all wouldn't fit in the van at the same time.  :-)  I think most moms would agree that it is a little bit emotional in a mama's heart to give away something that was a big part of when your child(ren) were small.  Just another reminder that they all are growing up and fast.

I hosted my weekly "Try a New Recipe Tuesday" and shared my Meatless Chili.  You can see my recipe and all of those that were shared here.

On Thursday, July 4, I wrote a reflection on the importance of the day. I am so thankful for the freedoms that so many have sacrificed so much to attain and defend for each of us.  Click here to read the post.  I know you will not be dissappointed.  :-) 

We had a fun day having a barbeque with family and friends.  And, of course, the kiddos found time to get a dip in the pool.  :-)

Kiddo #4 also picked our first cucumber!  If you remember, they started these from seeds back in March;  It has been a wonderful journey seeing the plants grow, do well and produce a little harvest.

She also set up her very own Fourth of July "Pigie" parade.  Too cute!  ;-)

and what better way to end the week to watch some new butterflies emerge from their chrysali?  When we raised the butterflies a couple of weeks back, there were a few that didn't make it.  :-(  The company stood by their guarantee and sent us 5 more caterpillars.  The kids were beyond thrilled and we got to witness the amazing process yet again.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.  Stop by on Saturday afternoon, as I am hosting a super giveaway!

Linking up today with:  Homeschool Mother's Journal, Weekly Wrap-Up, NOBH, Show-Off Friday, Learn and Link and It's a Wrap, Friendship Friday and Friday Connection and Family Fun Friday and T.G.I.F. Linky Party