Roman Feast

We celebrated the conclusion of our ancient history studies by having a Roman Feast!  Gracie did almost all of the food preparation.

So what does one eat at a Roman Feast?  Nothing too complicated, thankfully!  Crustulum is garlic bread and cecina is a baked mashed garbanzo bean dish.  (Recipes from Hands-On Heritage Activity and Coloring Books - Activity Book, Ancient Rome and The Story of the World. Activity Book 1: Ancient Times (Revised Edition) (Bk. 1). 

Plates and silverware are strictly forbidden.  Sitting on the floor is encouraged.

Don't forget to wear your laurel (or, er... ceanothus) wreath!

 

Fund your Homeschool

Swagbucks is a service that I use regularly and love, and seems perfect for homeschoolers.  We're always searching things on the web, and we always need to add more books to our collection, right?

Swagbucks is primarily a search engine that randomly rewards you with points for your searches.  You can exchange these points for items in the Swag Store, such as Amazon gift cards, Starbucks gift cards, and others.  The $5 Amazon gift cards are the best deal for 450 Swagbucks.  You can use multiple gift cards towards a purchase.

My experience with Swagbucks has been great! I've been a member since last summer and have earned exactly $105 in gift cards in less than a year!  You can bank your cards in your Amazon account and they will never expire.  Instead of using Swagbucks for homeschooling supplies, I've decided to use Swagbucks as a Christmas fund.  Last year I was able to buy these, this, and this paid for entirely with Swagbucks!

I know it sounds too good to be true, but it's absolutely legitimate.  There is no cost involved, I haven't received spam from Swagbucks, and I've never had a problem with any of the gift cards I've ordered.  The search engine doesn't offer results that are as extensive as Google, but I almost always find what I'm looking for.  Search "Apples and Jammies" and it's on the first page.  Not too shabby!

I usually don't like to do "shameless plug" types of posts.  But I honestly do think Swagbucks is great and hope you will, too!

Disclaimer:  Referral links are included in this post.

Good Links

I've been having so much fun going through all these planners and printables sites!

This list of chapter books and this list of picture books are great for incorporating some intentional geography in your child's reading.

Putting together some summer adventure boxes is definitely on my to-do list.

These will definitely be making their way onto our table this summer for a cool, no-cook meal.

These look like fun crafts: one for preschoolers, one for bigger kids, and one for mom!

Review: Calvary Chapel Bible Curriculum

 I recently reviewed Calvary Chapel's Bible Curriculum.  It's online and free!    Read my review here.

Motivation

Motivation is a very relevant subject as a home educator.  Sometimes it can be more than a little difficult to keep our kids motivated in their studies.  We don't always have the external motivators (be they good or bad) that kids in traditional classrooms have such as peer pressure, public praise, report cards, or maybe even a set bell schedule.  This video is fascinating and definitely has some interesting implications that could easily be transfered to a homeschool setting.



Do you have problems keeping your kids motivated?  What motivates your kids?

Today...

photo by josephpetepickle

we are celebrating the end of our second year of homeschooling! 

Whether you are at the beginning, middle or end of your homeschool year, I pray you can rejoice and be satisfied in your labors! 

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.

Colossians 3:23-24

LACMA

When I first heard about the kid's membership at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art I was very excited, but a little skeptical.  Free trips to the museum as long as my kids were under 18?  It sounded too good to be true! 

We recently made our first trip using our Nexgen membership cards and I can't stress enough how great LACMA's Nexgen program is! I highly recommend that anyone in the Southern California area take advantage of this free museum membership for kids.  In addition to one free adult admission with your Nexgen kid, there is a children's art gallery, where kids can create their own art. Free art totes and children's audio tours are available to check out as well. We hope to check these out on our next visit. This time we were too busy exploring!

On our recent trip, we went on a scavenger hunt to find the artists we studied this year.  We were able to see work from three of them:  Miro, Mondrian, and Klee.  My kids love to sketch at art museums.  It's a great way to make the experience a little more hands-on and lets kids practice their art skills just like real artists.

Homeschool Day at LACMA is May 27th.  Sounds like a fun end of the year field trip!

Story of the World: Volume 1: The Ancients

I am very excited to announce that I am now a contributing writer over at The Curriculum Choice!  I recently reviewed the first volume of Story of the Worldwhich is now posted here.  If you're considering this curriculum, head on over to see what I have to say about it!

 

The Curriculum Choice is a great place to get reviews on lots of different curriculum.  If you've never been there, go check it out!

Paul Klee Resources

Although they weren't very plentiful, here's what we did during our study of Paul Klee.

We had four of Klee's works on our art wall:

Miss Julie helped us create a Klee castle.

This project, a one-line drawing, came from Discovering Great Artists.

The real highlight of our Klee study was going to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and seeing some of his work in person.  To go to a real museum and see real art from a real artist that you've studied truly brings art education to another level and brings an excitement that little else can compare to.

Reading Independence & Booklists

Gracie will be in second grade this fall, and most of the reading we've done has been together.  I want to start fostering some independence in her for next school year by assigning a book each month and completing a related project.

So why am I doing this?

1.  To make her an independent learner.
2.  To guide her reading selection. 
3.  To teach her responsibility.
4.  It's something she is excited to do.

What will she read?

I'm still narrowing it down.  I want to preview each book to make sure it will be a good fit and doesn't have any surprises!  The books that she doesn't have assigned as independent reading will still probably find their from the library to our mantel.

Middle Ages Literature
(aligned with chapters of Story of the World Vol. 2)

The Sword in the Tree (2)
Marguerite Makes a Book (3,11)
Viking Adventure (14)
Minstrel In The Tower (16)
A Medieval Feast (16)
Castle Diary: The Journal of Tobias Burgess (16, 19)
The Making of a Knight: How Sir James Earned His Armor (17)
The Door in the Wall (19)
Joan of Arc (26)
Columbus (31)
Leonardo Davinci (35)
Leonardo and the Flying Boy (35)
Good Queen Bess : The Story of Elizabeth I of England (38,42)
William Shakespeare & the Globe (39)
Pirates (Reading Railroad) (42)

Earth Science Literature
(aligned with R.E.A.L. Science- Life)

Weather/Water
The Cloud Book
A Drop Of Water
Water Dance
Earth's Surface
Hill of Fire
The Magic School Bus Blows Its Top: A Book About Volcanoes
How to Dig a Hole to the Other Side of the World
Rocks & Minerals
Rocks in His Head
Rocks: Hard, Soft, Smooth, and Rough
Solar System
Starry Messenger: Galileo Galilei
Footprints on the Moon
If You Decide To Go To The Moon

I love finding relevant booklists, so I hope this is helpful.  I will post the finalized list as I make my way through previewing these books.  Anything you would add?