Westvon Publishing, who I have raved about before here as the publishers of GeoScribe and History Scribe, are having a sale that ends today, July 4th. 25% off any and everything! You will see the discount when you add an item to your shopping cart. No discount code needed.
Click here to shop.
Have a safe and happy Independence Day!
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Saturday, July 3, 2010
Hiatus will end soon!
Our mammoth move is almost over... I anticipate being back in the game by the middle of July! If you have any books or curriculum you'd like me to review, drop me a line!
Susan
Susan
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Deal of the Week
Notebooking is one activity that I have loved the idea of, but we just didn't do enough. My kids balked at a blank page set in front of them (I don't blame them!) and felt overwhelmed. But last year I found the History Scribe website during their annual sale and it has changed the way we do history. All of the downloadable Westvon Scribe products are 50% off this week (beginning 3/28/10).
From timeline pages, to essay questions, to maps, all the Scribe products give some structure to the notebooking experience. The pages are not blank, they have a format - with a place for illustration, text, title, etc. The pages have prompts to help jog the memory. But they are not busy, with drawings all over them like some other notebooking pages out there. Here's an example:
From timeline pages, to essay questions, to maps, all the Scribe products give some structure to the notebooking experience. The pages are not blank, they have a format - with a place for illustration, text, title, etc. The pages have prompts to help jog the memory. But they are not busy, with drawings all over them like some other notebooking pages out there. Here's an example:
The History Scholar pages are a bit more complex, and will hold a lot more writing. Each entry is also two pages long, with the second page having a timeline and an essay prompt. The GeoScribe set contains maps of all the U.S. states and each continent, plus notebooking pages on every state and country (over 500 pages - for just $5!). Unfortunately because of their sale, they have removed the links to sample pages for the History Scholar and GeoScribe sets for the time being, so I can't share them here.
The History Scribe Full Set, which includes the bonus History Scholar (high school level) set is on sale this week for just $8. The price will adjust when you place it in your shopping cart.
You can also buy single sets of Scribe products (i.e. History Scribe - Ancient Egypt) and Happy Scribe copywork books at a huge discount this week from Currclick.
Happy writing!
Monday, March 15, 2010
handwriting... do it yourself!
My days of buying copywork books are officially over! Not because we're done with handwriting (I actually cannot even picture that day in my head) but because I have found a way to make my own sheets. Finally! And for free.
I'd been searching for a software program that had connected cursive fonts in the style of Getty-Dubay Italic and Modern Cursive/Zaner-Bloser (of course my two children couldn't possibly like writing in the same style... that would be way too easy). I found a few programs, each about $40 - $50 that would allow me to type in the connected cursive style, but when I did a trial run with one, I wasn't impressed. The pages could only be typed in that particular program, and nothing could be copied or pasted out of it. It was a hassle and not very user-friendly. The two I looked at were Educational Fontware, Inc. and StartWrite.
I gave up and started scouring the internet for free fonts that could be downloaded and used in my existing word processing programs. I found Fontspace, and was able to download several different styles of connected cursive, all for free. On the Fontspace site, there's a category list on the left. Click on the tag "connected" and you'll get all the connected scripts. Some are a bit flowery, but here were my favorites: discipuli britannica, ecolier, cursif, farewell, VA-Pe2, and LA-El 2.
One advantage that StartWrite has over the freebies is that you can add starting dots and/or arrows to letters. That would be particularly helpful for teaching early writers. Another plus with StartWrite was that you could easily insert blank lines at the end or in between lines for copying.
Educational Fontware sells a CD of traditional fonts, including Handwriting Without Tears, D'Nealian, Zaner-Bloser, Getty Dubay, and many others. When the fonts are installed, you can type within your word processor, but the letters are not connected. When you are done typing, you highlight your text, and run a program called LinkLetter, which then connects your script for you.
I've already made a few sheets with spring poems for the kids... and a couple of goofy ones, including this one called My Hamster Has a Skateboard.
Happy writing!
I'd been searching for a software program that had connected cursive fonts in the style of Getty-Dubay Italic and Modern Cursive/Zaner-Bloser (of course my two children couldn't possibly like writing in the same style... that would be way too easy). I found a few programs, each about $40 - $50 that would allow me to type in the connected cursive style, but when I did a trial run with one, I wasn't impressed. The pages could only be typed in that particular program, and nothing could be copied or pasted out of it. It was a hassle and not very user-friendly. The two I looked at were Educational Fontware, Inc. and StartWrite.
I gave up and started scouring the internet for free fonts that could be downloaded and used in my existing word processing programs. I found Fontspace, and was able to download several different styles of connected cursive, all for free. On the Fontspace site, there's a category list on the left. Click on the tag "connected" and you'll get all the connected scripts. Some are a bit flowery, but here were my favorites: discipuli britannica, ecolier, cursif, farewell, VA-Pe2, and LA-El 2.
One advantage that StartWrite has over the freebies is that you can add starting dots and/or arrows to letters. That would be particularly helpful for teaching early writers. Another plus with StartWrite was that you could easily insert blank lines at the end or in between lines for copying.
Educational Fontware sells a CD of traditional fonts, including Handwriting Without Tears, D'Nealian, Zaner-Bloser, Getty Dubay, and many others. When the fonts are installed, you can type within your word processor, but the letters are not connected. When you are done typing, you highlight your text, and run a program called LinkLetter, which then connects your script for you.
I've already made a few sheets with spring poems for the kids... and a couple of goofy ones, including this one called My Hamster Has a Skateboard.
Happy writing!
Friday, March 12, 2010
I love a good storyteller
We love audiobooks around here. We play them in the car, listen to them over breakfast, and everybody has them on their iPods. I do like reading aloud to the kids, but there's only so much reading aloud one mom can do. Audiobooks to the rescue.
Our very, very favorite lately is Jim Weiss. We started out listening to his retelling of the Greek myths, and couldn't get enough. He's taken us through the middle ages with Robin Hood and King Arthur and Archimedes, and now through the Renaissance with Galileo, Shakespeare, The Three Musketeers and Queen Elizabeth. The kids can't get enough, and these are the quietest car rides we've ever had. I can't recommend his stories enough.
If you do a classical 4-year history cycle in your homeschool, Jim Weiss also narrates the Story of the World books by Susan Wise Bauer. The kids read the books at home, but the audio versions make for a great refresher and a chance for us to talk about the stories as a family.
Happy listening!
Our very, very favorite lately is Jim Weiss. We started out listening to his retelling of the Greek myths, and couldn't get enough. He's taken us through the middle ages with Robin Hood and King Arthur and Archimedes, and now through the Renaissance with Galileo, Shakespeare, The Three Musketeers and Queen Elizabeth. The kids can't get enough, and these are the quietest car rides we've ever had. I can't recommend his stories enough.
If you do a classical 4-year history cycle in your homeschool, Jim Weiss also narrates the Story of the World books by Susan Wise Bauer. The kids read the books at home, but the audio versions make for a great refresher and a chance for us to talk about the stories as a family.
Happy listening!
Sunday, February 28, 2010
more music: classics for kids!
I found a great site last week that goes along with the composer study/music history theme, but this one is geared toward younger ears. Classics for Kids is a website dedicated to introducing children to classical music. I love the way it is arranged! You can easily listen by composer, by period, or just chronologically work your way through the list. There's even a handy dandy timeline if you're into that sort of thing (we are).
There's much more to explore there, too, with printable activities, online games, and info on all the orchestral instruments. You can even learn about musical careers or consult the musical dictionary, and it's all in a kid-friendly environment.
Aside from their own collection, Classics for Kids has a link to Naxos.com, a web radio environment where you can search content and play your selections. At Naxos, you can listen to 20% of any piece without paying for the subscription, however, an annual subscription is a bargain at $9.95 for FM quality or $19.95 for CD quality.
There's much more to explore there, too, with printable activities, online games, and info on all the orchestral instruments. You can even learn about musical careers or consult the musical dictionary, and it's all in a kid-friendly environment.
Aside from their own collection, Classics for Kids has a link to Naxos.com, a web radio environment where you can search content and play your selections. At Naxos, you can listen to 20% of any piece without paying for the subscription, however, an annual subscription is a bargain at $9.95 for FM quality or $19.95 for CD quality.
Monday, February 22, 2010
Music Appreciation
I've been aware of Harmony Fine Arts for a while, but I really took a good look at it last week. If you're looking for a chronological survey of art and Western music, this is a great place to start, especially for the upper grades.
There are 3 levels of instruction, based on the classical trivium. Grammar stage for grades 1-4, Logic for grades 5-8, and Rhetoric for high school. Within each stage is a full year program for each grade level. The lesson plan for each grade level includes a weekly schedule, resource list, and supplies needed. Within each lesson, there are 3 levels of depth with which to study, from picture study to a full-on art course (using Artistic Pursuits). Click here to see a sample page for each grade level.
The best thing I discovered this week is that the high school level music appreciation courses are FREE! The 4-year course is broken down into 36 weeks for each grade (9-12), and surveys major composers from Palestrina (renaissance) to Bernstein. The schedule includes a listening schedule, reading assignments, and writing assignments for each section, and would probably lend itself to at least 1/2 credit in music history or music appreciation per year. Click here to download the PDF files for the courses.
The 12th grade Art Appreciation course is also a free PDF download, but grades 9-11 must be purchased. They are $9.95 for the print version or $8.95 for the e-book.
There are 3 levels of instruction, based on the classical trivium. Grammar stage for grades 1-4, Logic for grades 5-8, and Rhetoric for high school. Within each stage is a full year program for each grade level. The lesson plan for each grade level includes a weekly schedule, resource list, and supplies needed. Within each lesson, there are 3 levels of depth with which to study, from picture study to a full-on art course (using Artistic Pursuits). Click here to see a sample page for each grade level.
The best thing I discovered this week is that the high school level music appreciation courses are FREE! The 4-year course is broken down into 36 weeks for each grade (9-12), and surveys major composers from Palestrina (renaissance) to Bernstein. The schedule includes a listening schedule, reading assignments, and writing assignments for each section, and would probably lend itself to at least 1/2 credit in music history or music appreciation per year. Click here to download the PDF files for the courses.
The 12th grade Art Appreciation course is also a free PDF download, but grades 9-11 must be purchased. They are $9.95 for the print version or $8.95 for the e-book.
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