It is time again for Field Trip Friday! I love seeing all of the wonderful places that you visit with your families. :-) I am happy to be joining my friend Jen at Chestnut Grove Academy for her wonderful linkup. Also co-hosting with me is Misty from Mimi's House. Be sure to visit their blogs, as well! :-)
I was SO impressed with the posts last week. Wow. The posts included a myriad of amazing and educational field trips from delightful movies made in their own neighborhood, to a cross-country National Parks adventure, to participating in an archaeological dig! What amazing memories you all have made with your children!
I look forward to seeing what trips and outings will be shared this week! :-)
Were you featured this week? If so, congratulations and help yourself to one of our "I was featured" buttons to display on your blog.
<div align="center"><a href="http://www.upsidedownhomeschooling.com/hearts-for-home/" title="Hearts for Home Blog Hop" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1169.photobucket.com/albums/r505/upsidedownhomeschool/HFHFeature_zpse5060e68.jpg" alt="Hearts for Home Blog Hop" style="border:none;" /></a></div>
Are you ready to share your posts this week? Let's go! Use the form below to enter your links. Posts can be anything that shows your heart is for your home: homeschooling, homemaking, parenting, marriage, faith, family, crafts, etc. Please just kindly link back to this blog or display our Hearts for Home button in your post or on your sidebar.
<div align="center"><a href="http://www.upsidedownhomeschooling.com/hearts-for-home/" title="Hearts for Home Blog Hop" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1169.photobucket.com/albums/r505/upsidedownhomeschool/HFH150_zpsf22ef64f.jpg" alt="Hearts for Home Blog Hop" style="border:none;" /></a></div>
On of the first things that people ask when they hear that I am homeschooling 2 high schoolers is "how do you teach the math?" Being a homeschool mom, I tell them, isn't about teaching every subject necessarily, it is about finding the best ways for your children to learn and the best programs or offerings to accomplish that successfully.
VideoText Interactive's Algebra program is a complete course that encompasses Pre-Algebra, Algebra I and Algebra II. They explain it very well or on the website, but I will paraphrase and say that it is a mastery approach rather than a spiral one. Their material is presented logically and the student is taught the hows and whys. When the program is completed, the child can be issued credit for all 3 courses. (Pre-Algebra, Algebra I and Algebra II) I would strongly suggest reading the rationale for the development of the course in such a way. The research and experience of the developer is quite impressive.
The complete course looks like this:
176 video lessons (5-10 minutes each)
Course notes - reiterate what was in each lesson
Student Work Text - examples and exercises
Solutions
Progress Tests
The program is user-friendly and interactive. It is meant to be a full curriculum, but since Kiddos 1 and 2 were already enrolled in and taking an online Algebra II class, we used it as a supplement, reinforcing the material they were already learning.
Each day, the boys would watch the video and do problems from the worksheet that I printed from the site. They checked their work and were ready for a quiz the next day. The videos were well-done, with the sound and visuals easy to understand. The course notes and even the solutions give step by step explanations as to how a particular answer is achieved, not just the right and wrong response.
The product made life much easier for me, providing packing guides, scope and sequence and progress checklists (these were enormously helpful!) I even printed graph paper from the site. :-)
The program is recommended for grades 8-12, but if your child shows readiness a bit younger, than I would watch this video by the developer of the program:
Each child (the purchase price includes an account for 2 children for 3 years. Additional students can be added at a later date for $49) has their own account and login, as does the parent. The parent can view progress, quizzes, and even the answers at any time.
The online price (we used the online version) for the complete course is $299, but keep in mind that you would be purchasing a 3-year math program for that cost.
VideoText Interactive also offers a complete Geometry program (which includes Geometry, Trigonometry and Pre-Calculus!). Some of my colleagues reviewed the Algebra and others reviewed the Geometry. Click below to read their reviews.
As I promised, I am sharing about our trip to Cherry Crest Adventure Farm this past Friday.
What an amazing place! If you are anywhere within commuting distance, do try to get yourself and your family there next year. They even offer a "homeschool week," where you can get admission at the school group rate of only $9 per person.
There is just so much to see and do. When they boast that there are 50+ activities for kids to do, they aren't kidding! (and I think my kids tried almost every one of them, lol!)
(notice kiddo #2 on the left is literally in the air bouncing and waving to the passengers on a historic steam train going by. How cool is that?)
They pride themselves (and rightly so) on providing an environment for families to engage in wholesome and fun activities, games and educational opportunities. There was everything from sports to trains to baby chicks and everything in between.
(the go-karts were pedal-powered!!)
(including a 5 acre corn maze. yes, 5 acres, complete with a cafe, games and port-a-potties nestled in it! Unbelievable!)
(Yes, this is inside the corn maze!)
We learned on the tractor ride that the property was given to its original owner back in the early 1700s right from William Penn and many of those structures built by her family still stand today.
Being on 350 acres in the middle of Lancaster County, PA is an experience in itself, but to have so many fun and engaging games and activities for children makes it all the more beautiful. My kiddos, even the oldest, were asking to play the games over and over again. We can't wait to visit again next year! :-)
This is simple, yet SO much healthier than the store bought varieties with MSG and other chemical additives. And it tastes great, too! :-)
Taco Seasoning
1/2 cup chili powder
1/4 cup onion powder
1/8 cup ground cumin
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon paprika
1 tablespoon sea salt
Put ingredients in a small mason jar and shake well. 4 tablespoons equal one packet of the store bought variety. After you brown and drain your beef, add the seasoning and 3/4 cup of water. Stir well. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 5 minutes.
Designed for players 11+, it literally gives a hands-on learning experience about the entire election process from campaigning and fundraising to counting up electoral votes. This can certainly a bit confusing for most Americans, but this game helps clear up any confusion while having some competition in the process. :-)
My children are familiar with both political parties. We have also studied our Founding Fathers and the hows and whys our nation and its electoral system came about. So, we were definitely excited about reviewing this game. The only challenge was deciding who was going to play as the side that we tend to disagree with a lot of the time. :-)
The game includes:
20" x 30" game board
score pad
3 blue dice and 3 red dice
80 politics cards
40 "write your own" politics cards
150 Republican red chips and 150 Democrat blue chips (votes)
Electoral Web Map Calculator access code
You, as a player, are literally thrust in the middle of a campaign and must plan and strategize how to achieve the 270 electoral votes. They have to decide when and how to fundraise and when and how to go campaigning.
There is definitely humor scattered throughout with some of the politics cards that give electoral bonuses according to things like wardrobe choices, campaign promises and even platform issues. You can write your own, as well.
The code that is provided allows for online tallying of your progress, complete with an electoral map. You don't even have to keep tally on your scorecards since it keeps track for you.
My boys enjoyed playing this game. It was not only fun, had them competing against each other (which they love doing anyway!) and learn about a process that can seem confusing. They are at the age where they need to truly understand what is going on and how, they, as future voters (in only a few years!), have a civic duty to not only participate and vote, but to truly be educated about the entire electoral system and how elections take place.
We try to have a family game night each week. We decided to play the game then, as a family, rather than during our school day.
The object of the game is to win 270 of the 538 electoral votes and become President. The game is flexible, in that you can choose how long to play by deciding how many weeks are left until the election. The first time we played, it lasted about 30 minutes. Once we got the hang of it, it lasted upwards of 90 minutes.
Each turn is split into weeks. There are three dice for each turn. Before the team takes their turn, they must decide whether or not they will campaign or fundraise. If you choose to campaign, you choose the state and the roll of the dice will give you votes in that state. If you choose to fundraise, you can choose between 4 states (Florida, California, New York and Texas) That began a whole discussion with our kids as to the importance of the larger states in presidential elections. My sons became advocates for the smaller states, feeling like their votes and opinions are made to be not as important. They learned quite a bit from this part of the game, that's for sure.
It may sound confusing, but it really is not. It gets everyone thinking about strategy, planning and competition, which is right up my boys' alley. :-)
Here is a video that introduces you to the game.
I even purchased another game to give as a birthday gift to a friend whose family is interested in Presidents and Presidential history, as well. :-)
The game sells for $35 and will give your family much educational fun.
