Getting Ready!

My plunge into the world of the product reviewer has kept me busy!  It's great, though.  I'm loving every minute of it.  Sometimes one of the kids is REALLY excited about a particular product, and sometimes it's a chore to get them involved.  But in the end, I think we're all enjoying it.  Already, we've switched math programs for Hayden for this year because of a product we're reviewing that seems to be working better for him than what we had planned to use.  I'll get into that more when the review comes up.

We accomplished our first week of the new school year in mid-June and took these last two weeks off to polish some rough edges in our plans for the year and to complete our preparations for the school year.  I always like to have a little "false start" and then take some time to fix anything I failed to copy, print, order, prepare, schedule, etc.  With 3 kids in the school routine now, there's bound to be something I've overlooked, particularly since we go right from one school year into the next without a noticeable break!  Sheesh!  During our brief break, I had to cart Haylee back and forth the first week to her cheer and tumbling camp.  She had a blast!  She enjoyed it so much that I signed her up again in August during our scheduled week off for that month.  Here's a little video they put together of still photos from her week at camp.  She's in at least 4 of the photos.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1YrVQ64GBfE

I think we're in a good place now and ready to hit the ground running.  However, we have quite a busy schedule this week.  Tomorrow evening, we're going to a Tides game where they'll be doing a fireworks display afterwards.  It's our family tradition to go every year.  Tuesday, I'm taking at least Haylee and maybe the neighbors to see the Virginia Symphony play a patriotic Symphony By the Sea concert at the Oceanfront.  Then Wednesday, of course, is the 4th of July.  We always go see the fireworks display at Mt. Trashmore from a nearby parking lot that's easy to get out of when it's all over.  Steve will be off that day, but it's still a school day for us.  We'll have to see how that goes!  So as you can see, it will be pretty tough to stay on schedule with school this week.  The kids will have to be at the top of their game to finish on time every day.  Good luck with that!  LOL.

We were late doing our family end-of-school year celebrations, so we took this weekend to wrap up some family fun.  We went out to dinner (a rare treat) at Mi Casita on Friday night, as we do every summer when school comes to an end.  It's the kids' favorite place to eat, and mine, too.  I gained 2 pounds from dinner, even though I split an entree with Hayden, which is what usually happens when I eat out. DARN! 

Then Saturday, we went to the 3-D indoor blacklight mini golf place at the Oceanfront.  Afterwards, I waded in the ocean with the kids while Steve sat and waited for us.  Fuddy duddy!  LOL.  We seriously had a blast.  The kids have always lived here and were born in this city, and yet it's the first time I've ever taken them all to wade in the ocean!  How sad is that?!?  Truth be told, not a one of us can swim, so that's my reason for avoiding all things involving water.  Some kid mowed us down on a boogie board and I scraped my leg on the sand.  Another little girl mowed Hayden down, and he sat in his shorts in the sand and water laughing his behind off!  LOL.  We really had a blast.  Hayden said he had the time of his life and couldn't wait to go back and do it again.  He said the feeling of the waves taking the sand out from underneath his feet was so weird!  He's never felt that sensation before.  We all had such fun!

Hayden and Holden still had a little school work to wrap up, so we got that finished up this weekend, too.  Hopefully, everyone will be on board and ready to get into a full schedule tomorrow!  Game on!

I made the TOS Review Crew!!!!!!

Hooray!  I'm so excited to share that I just made the TOS Review Crew!  Woo-hoo!  That totally made my day.  The suspense has been killing me all week, so I was pretty wowed when I got the news this morning!

This assignment will run from June-November.  I can't wait to get started!

Join in with me on a "virtual" celebration!

TOS Review Crew?!? To be, or not to be!

I applied this weekend to join the TOS (This Old Schoolhouse) Homeschool Review Crew!  Woot!  I'm excited at the possibilities.  I really hope it works out.  I was asked today to write a sample product review, so here's what I came up with this afternoon and sent in for consideration.  I feel really good about it!  Let me know what you think.  :)  My husband read it and said he thought it was really good and seemed very helpful.  We shall see!

WORDLY WISE 3000 PRODUCT REVIEW

-By Kelly Burgess

Wordly Wise 3000 is a vocabulary building workbook series available for grades K-12, brought to you by Educators Publishing Service.

(http://eps.schoolspecialty.com/products/details.cfm?series=2818M)

The vendor recommends the use of the Teacher’s Resource Books in order to fully implement the lessons for levels K-1, but levels 2-12 can reliably be used as stand-alone vocabulary workbooks without the use of the teacher’s guides. 

The latest release is the new 3^rd edition.  Having used both 2^nd and 3^rd edition workbooks, I can say that the content is essentially the same, but the visual appearance of the 3^rd edition is definitely more appealing with the use of more color on the pages.

From the vendor’s website, here are the key features of Wordly Wise 3000:

Skills & Strategies

·                                 Vocabulary development

·                                 Reading comprehension

·                                 Critical thinking

·                                 Using a dictionary and pronunciation key

·                                 Word usage

·                                 Test taking/assessment

·                                 Context clues

·                                 Synonyms and antonyms

·                                 Multiple-meaning words

·                                 Using word parts to determine meaning:

·                               prefixes

·                               suffixes

·                               Greek and Latin roots

·                                 Homophones

·                                 Picture clues and captions

·                                 Analogies

·                                 Word origins

·                                 Repeated exposure in many contexts

There are 15-20 units in each workbook, each focusing on a specific new word list.  I’m going to focus on book 4 for the purposes of this review.  The words are introduced in dictionary-style format with definitions, pronunciation guide, and sample sentences using the word in context.  This is followed by a series of 5 workbook activities:

• Finding Meanings - the student matches two phrases that make a true sentence about one of the words and then rewrites the completed sentence

• Just the Right Word – the student replaces a bolded phrase in the given sentence with the vocabulary word it defines 

• Applying Meanings – the student is given a question that gives application of the vocabulary word and then must choose one or more of the multiple choice answers that correctly answer the question

• Word Study – the content of this exercise varies with such topics as synonyms, antonyms, word origins, prefixes, suffixes, etc.

• Passage – the student reads a passage on a non-fictional cross-curricular topic such as history, science, literature, etc. and then answers comprehension questions that in some way use the vocabulary words from that unit

After every four lessons, there is a review activity in the form of a crossword puzzle.  Words from the previous four word lists are used to answer the clues.

Word lists are repeated in the margin on most pages of the workbook to keep the student from wasting time flipping back to the initial word list for each given unit.

My children have thoroughly enjoyed using these workbooks, and I’ve seen a definite advancement in their range and accurate implementation of vocabulary.  I love that this is a product I can use throughout their homeschool experience, even through the high school years.  The predictable format makes the lessons very user-friendly so the student can progress without much, if any, guidance from the parent.

Answer keys are available for purchase with solutions to all of the workbook activities to enable quick grading of your student’s work if you so desire.  In addition, if you wish to test your students for comprehension, you can purchase an optional test book with quizzes for each unit in a multiple choice format.  The answers are included in the back of the test booklet.

In addition, you get free access to their website to enhance the student’s learning.  This is one of my kids’ favorite features of the product.  At www.wordlywise3000.com, you can click on the “student” area and access audiovisual files that “teach” each of the word lists, complete with self-check activities that give immediate feedback.  The audio files can also be downloaded for learning on the go.  Students can also play a variety of games, such as hangman and battleship, which aid the student in checking their understanding of the words.  My kids really enjoy those, and it’s a great way to get them to keep practicing application of their words!

It’s easy to adjust the program to each student’s skill level by simply reviewing the word lists on the interactive website I mentioned above to see where you feel your child’s level of understanding best fits into the program.  It doesn’t necessarily have to correspond with their “grade” level.  With the predictable number of activities, I have found it easy to schedule out the book over the course of a school year, or you can simply let your child progress at their own pace.  It’s up to you!

At a cost of $11.50-$13.20 per workbook, Wordly Wise 3000 provides a good return for a minimal investment.  I really like that I don’t have to buy a lot of frills to go with it, and it includes enough material to fill up the school year with a solid foundation of vocabulary expansion. 

I think the main positives of this program are the overall value, ease of use, effectiveness of the activities to reinforce the learning, and a predictable format that is easy for the student to follow and easy for the parent to plan into the school year.  A potential negative is that with it being a workbook format, it wouldn’t be a good fit for a child who dislikes that type of learning.  Also, because the format is predictable with the same types of activities in every unit, the repetitive nature could become boring for the student if he/she dislikes any of the specific activities.  My oldest son, for example, really dislikes doing reading comprehension questions, so the “Passage” activity is the one he really dreads doing.  But overall, I highly recommend this series for kids aged 5-18.

Read more about Wordly Wise 3000 on the TOS Homeschool Crew Review Blog http://homeschoolcrew.com/?s=wordly+wise (there wasn’t a specific link about Wordly Wise on the TOS blog, so I put this link in merely as a filler for the purposes of the review sample).

Educators Publishing Services provided this product to me free of charge for reviewing purposes, but I was in no way influenced as to my impressions of the product.  My opinions of Wordly Wise 3000 are entirely my own.  (Obviously, that’s not the case, but I inserted this disclaimer for the purpose of following the format for the sample review.  I actually bought the products myself and have been using them for the last 8 years!)

The Good and the Not-So-Good

The good news is that I got the kids' CAT test results back.  Haylee scored 99th percentile for her 2nd grade test, and Hayden scored 95th percentile for his 7th grade test.  He has never scored below 98th percentile before so that was a bit of a surprise.  But he did the whole test in one day instead of breaking it up.  It's possible that he was just tired.  It looks like his lowest score was in Study Skills, so I will have to look at that section next year and see what kinds of things are in that.  I didn't even look at the content of his test before I gave it to him, so I have no idea what was on it.  In any case, they both did well, and I'm so glad to have it behind us for yet another year.

The not-so-good news is that we've decided Hayden must re-take Algebra I this next school year.  That's a real bummer to have lost a whole year of progress.  He was way ahead, and I think it was a mistake to skip Algebra 1/2.  He went right from Saxon 8/7 to Saxon Algebra I this year.  His placement test was right at 85%, which is the minimum to skip Algebra 1/2.  I gave him the choice, and he said he felt comfortable moving on.  But clearly, it was a mistake.  He was caught cheating several times on his tests, and when asked about it, he said it had just gotten too hard for him.  It was enough that it made him cry.  So long story short, I gave him the placement test for Algebra 2, and he couldn't even begin.  It was like he hadn't retained a single thing from this whole school year.  I see two problems with how math went this year.  One, he refused to show his work on each problem, and we told him at the beginning of the year that this step was essential to mastering all math from Algebra on up, but he didn't take it seriously.  Two, he never used the Saxon Teacher DVD that I bought him.  Every day, I'd ask if he had any problems with his lessons, and he'd say no.  But in truth, he wasn't fully understanding the lessons, and this realization didn't come to light until the END of the school year.   This makes me really frustrated.  If he was having problems throughout the year, he had ample opportunity to bring it to my attention and did not.  He had the teacher DVD to help him through the lessons and the problems, and he didn't make use of that resource because he said it was too "slow and boring."  Sigh.  Thus, here we are, at the END of the school year, having made ZERO progress in math.  I'm very frustrated.  The up side of this is that he was 2 years ahead in math, and he'll still be a year ahead of average, so it's not a major crisis, but I still feel like this year was a total failure.  I'm not wanting to have this happen again. 

Another not-so-good side to this is that in all of this coming out last night, hubby decided to play a bit of the blame game with me.  I am NOT happy about this.  I totally have my hands full, and they get fuller every year.  He said if time is a problem, then the kids need to go to school.  I said fine, MY life would sure be a whole lot easier!  But we all know we're not sending the kids to school!  There are a myriad of reasons not to do it.  Homeschooling is hard, and that's a fact.  It is eating up my whole life right now, and that's a fact.  The kids have a sorry attitude towards completing their work and have been that way for months...that's a fact.  I'm ready to pull my hair out.  What I need is some partnering in changing their attitudes and getting things back on track.  I'm open to suggestions on how to make schooling go better.  What I'm NOT open to is somebody who does not participate in the schooling telling me it's all my fault.  That is SO NOT COOL!  Okay, now I've gotten that off my chest.  I feel better.

New day, new chance at doing things better.  Hello, Monday!  Give me what you've got!

School planning

Okay, so I'm a bit late working through my plans for this school year compared to my usual January posting of my plans.  But at long last, here is my plan for the 2012-2013 school year:

HAYDEN, age 12, Grade 8

Sonlight Core 100
Glencoe: Civics & You 2002 (Social Studies Supplement)
Sonlight Science 100 (Apologia Physical Science)
Glencoe: Physical Science 2002 (Science Supplement)
Saxon Math Algebra 1 No-Nonsense Algebra
Saxon Grammar & Writing 8
Wordly Wise 3000 Book 9 (new 3rd edition)
Switched on Schoolhouse Secondary Spanish (2nd half)
Beyond the Nine-Note Recorder Method for Alto (we didn't keep up with this last school year)


HAYLEE, age 7, Grade 3

Sonlight Core D (3) with Advanced Readers
Sonlight Science D
McGraw Hill Science 3
Lyrical Life Science Volumes 1 & 2
McGraw Hill Language Arts 3
McGraw Hill:  Our Communities
Houghton Mifflin Spelling & Vocabulary 4
Saxon Math 5/4
A Reason for Handwriting D
Wordly Wise 3000 Book 4 (new 3rd edition)
Everthing Kids' Learning Spanish
Everything Kids' Puzzle & Activity Book
Harcourt Health & Fitness 3
Silver Burdett Music 3
Abeka Art Projects 3
Scholastic News 4


HOLDEN, age 4, grade PK

Sonlight PK 4/5
Sonlight LA K
A Reason for Handwriting K
Saxon Phonics K
Get Ready, Get Set, Go for the Code series
Saxon Math K
Usborne Opposites and Shapes Workbooks
Character Development:  Help Me Be Good book series + Right Choices
Abeka K4 Art Projects
Tot Tray Activity Center
Scholastic "Let's Find Out" Magazine

Box Day...Sort of...

The kids are already starting to feel the excitement of "Box Day," a treasured day known by all Sonlighters. Haylee's Box Day was sort of yesterday, as I went out to the shed and pulled out the sacred storage tub that contains Core 3 (now Core D). Hayden read me the titles while I made a list to have ready to compare with the new version of the core when it comes out in a couple of weeks so I ca...n order the newly inserted books and upgrade the IG on April 2nd. It was really cool to hear him exclaim the title, closely followed by "I remember that book...I loved this story" after nearly every book. Then the excitement was catching to Haylee with comments like "really, what's it about?" And then she wanted to know all about the books, but we were calling them out much too fast to linger over any one. Hayden fondly remembered his own Box Day with this core...I remember his own disappointment that year that "every single book was about Indians," as this is the first core that correlates readers with the history content. But in the end, he loved each and every book, much to his surprise. And he fondly remembers grabbing the science books out of the box and curling up with them on the spot. I swear, it seems like yesterday when I was reading those books to him. It's almost startling to think it's been 4 years since we cracked them open...the memories are so vivid that it just doesn't seem possible. Aaaahhh. These feelings we shared as we went through the books are *truly* what Sonlight is all about. :)

My Epiphany About Next School Year

I had an epiphany this week!  As I've begun to think through and plan this next school year, it dawned on me that things should get a lot better for me in our homeshool!

Hayden will be in 8th grade, but he'll be moving into Sonlight's Core 100.  That is technically a high school core, so he'll be moving to entirely independent study!  So no more read alouds for me with him, which frees up about an hour of my school day.  I will only need to do comprehension questions with him at the end of the day.

Haylee will be finished with the phonics program, so that frees up an hour with one less subject to cover with her.  She'll be doing Virginia history in 3rd grade, but that won't take up much time at all.  In addition, she'll be moving out of elementary fmath and into middle grades math with Saxon, so as she goes into Saxon 5/4 next school year, her lessons will become self-instructed.  That frees up another hour of my time.  Yay! 

All I could think to myself as I came to these realizations is that this means I will *finally* have some time for poor Holden's school!  But then I realized, too, that it's a good thing, because now HE will be starting Saxon Math and Saxon Phonics!  And he will be doing a lot more school work with the Developing the Early Learner books and learning to read this next year.  So that freed up time with the other kids comes just in time to shift it over to Holden. 

So in the end, my school day will likely be just as long...it will just be allocated differently amongst the 3 kids.  Sigh.  I *almost* got excited!  LOL.  Oh, the life of a homeschool mom!  It never ends...