See The Light Art Class-Review

I recently had the opportunity to review a fantastic art curriculum called See The Light. They offer three DVD programs called "Art Class", "Art Projects", and "Bible Stories". I chose to review "Art Class".

I received the first DVD in the "Art Class" series valued at $14.99.

(You can purchase the entire 9 DVD series for $99.)

Art Class is a 9 DVD/36 lesson series geared for ages 6 + that includes:

Step by Step Tutoring

Integrated Art History & Biblical Truth

Progressive Skill Building

No Workbooks Ever – Only Basic Supplies

Three bonus lessons 

This series qualifies for the Fine Arts school requirement.

(This is what the first DVD Lessons 1-4 cover for instruction.)

Lesson 1: TOOLS OF THE TRADE - Learn the basics of what makes a drawing. Master artist Pat Knepley demonstrates what you need to have on hand in your drawing “toolkit” to always be ready to draw. Supplies needed: #2 Pencil, White Eraser or Gray Kneaded Eraser, 1 Sheet of White Paper - 8 1/2 by 11.

Lesson 2: IT ALL STARTS WITH A LINE - The most fundamental element of all drawing is the line - but not all lines are alike! Learn about different line qualities and the most essential skill of drawing - contour drawing. Supplies needed: #2 Pencil, White Eraser or Gray Kneaded Eraser, 1 Sheet of White Paper - 8 1/2 by 11, 2 Apples.

Lesson 3: CONTOURS & COMPOSITION - Train your eyes and hands to be synchronized! You'll learn some tips to place items in a drawing - or "composition" - to get the best results! Supplies needed: #2 Pencil, White Eraser or Gray Kneaded Eraser, 3 Sheets of White Paper - 8 1/2 by 11, Black Fine Marker or Pen, Black or Dark Gray Charcoal Pencil, 2 Apples or any two pieces of Fruit.

Lesson4: DRAW WHAT YOU SEE - You'll take a common everyday item - a shoe - as your subject for a completed contour drawing. This is a true test of whether you draw what you SEE or what you KNOW! Supplies needed: #2 Pencil, White Eraser or Gray Kneaded Eraser, 1 Sheet of White Paper - 8 1/2 by 11 or a little larger if you have it, Black Sharpie Marker, A Shoe.

Bonus Lesson: CHALK-IT-EASY CHALK ART LESSON with See The Light chalk artist Gloria Kohlmann

I had heard of "See the Light" art curriculum but I didn't know they offered an actual art class that my children could use that would fulfill their fine arts requirement all with Bible-based lessons taught within the art curriculum! Check out this video to see "What is Art Class?"

Here is some information about the other two programs offered by See the Light.

Art Projects is a 9 DVD/36 lesson series geared for ages 10 +. Each of the 9 projects focuses on the work of a famous artist and contains:

Step by Step Tutoring

Integrated Biblical Truth

Art History

Art Elements

Art Principles

Bible Stories with Related Art Lessons is a 5 DVD series that includes a Bible story artistically and dramatically presented for the entire family. There are 3 step by step art lessons on each DVD that are related to the Bible story presented. Children of all ages love the “POP” of the black light included in each lesson. Bonus features are included on each DVD such as the Plan of Salvation, a commentary by the chalk artist, etc.

About the Creator:

Pat Holt has a passion for children and a heart for missions. She has worked with children since she volunteered for church ministry at age 14 before earning degrees in education and instructional technology.  Since then, she’s taught in public schools and founded a Christian school while authoring many books including the bestselling When You Feel Like Screaming – Help For Frustrated Mothers and the award winningDon’t Give in, Give Choices, as well as being a guest on a multitude of radio and TV programs. She was awarded the Gold Medallion in Christian Education by the Evangelical Publishers Association. Pat and her husband, Dave, live in California.

You can "like" See The Light on their Facebook Page or follow them on Twitter.

My Thoughts:

I thought this was a fantastic DVD art class program. Pat Knepley's love for art and teaching art really shows. Also her love for God and His Word is woven throughout the lessons and I found this a wonderful way to add inspiration to my children's daily lessons. The kids seemed to enjoy the DVD lessons too. I even had fun drawing along with my kids and learning the lessons with them. I'm looking forward to ordering the rest of the DVD's so we can finish out the year with a full art curriculum!

I received a free copy of this DVD to review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the FTC Regulations. I am part of The CWA Review Crew.

What is "Common Core" and Why You Should Care

There are some really bizarre ideas circulating around the internet lately. Watch the following video and you will see what I mean.




"these are our children...so part of it is we have to break through our kind of private idea that kids belong to their parents or kids belong to their families and recognize that kids belong to whole communities."


In case you missed it, did she REALLY just say that MY kids that I grew inside MY body, breastfed for years and home educated don't really belong to me, but to the state? I think NOT! My children are MY BLESSINGS from God and REWARD from my Heavenly Father. They absolutely do not belong to the community or state!

Psalm 127:3

"Children are a heritage from the Lord, offspring a reward from him."

Now I'm sure there are plenty of parents out there that would gladly hand their offspring over to the state and wash their hands of their responsibilities for that child, but most sane people would think MSNBC's anchor Melissa Harris-Perry's statement is foolish. Really? My kids don't belong to ME?

“It’s almost a parody of reality,” Glenn Beck said of the clip.  “It is so far beyond what we have ever thought as a nation, it’s remarkable…” 

Beck goes on to say that "while the notion has been reserved largely for theoretical papers thus far, Beck claimed it is growing legs in America’s academic curriculum and connected it to the concerns recently raised about two programs called Common Core and CSCOPE:

“It’s already being implemented with Common Core.  It’s already been implemented here in Texas with CSCOPE.  You don’t have a right to see as a parent what your children are learning.  You go to a Texas school and say, “Let me see the curriculum.”  You can’t.  “Let me see that test that you are teaching through CSCOPE.”  You can’t. You’re a parent.  You don’t have a right to know." You can read the rest of the article and watch the video HERE.

the-whole-story-on-common-core- Here is a link to get the whole story of the common core.

At first glance the Common Core curriculum initiative sounds great. If you look at their website you will find wonderful things like, "The standards are designed to be robust and relevant to the real world, reflecting the knowledge and skills that our young people need for success in college and careers. With American students fully prepared for the future, our communities will be best positioned to compete successfully in the global economy." You can read more at their website here.

"Robust and relevant"? Really?

Maine adopted Common Core standards back in April 4, 2011 and began fully implementing its standards in this school year of 2012-2013. The Maine website gives information on Common Core and what it plans to implement here. "Educational standards identify the skills and knowledge that students should have when they graduate from high school, and benchmark the development of those knowledge- and skill-sets either grade-by-grade, or over the course of a grade span." 

A ONE-SIZE FITS ALL EDUCATION!

It's all about preparing kids for the workforce, NOT about meeting the needs and learning styles of our kids.

Stopcommoncore.com put it this way:

"Simply put, the Common Core is designed to replace local and parental control over education with centralized, top-down control. The purpose is to train students for jobs, not educate them to be full, thoughtful citizens in our democratic republic. If we do not take action now to prevent this destructive experiment on our children, it will be too late."

When you check out stopcommoncore.com they have a myth vs fact page. It is really eye opening.

Like for instance Common Core was never a state-led initiative, but by private interests in Washington, D.C. without any representation of the states. There are many other myths placed beside the FACTS there. 

We would all do well to be educated in what Common Core really is and how to STOP it from being fully implemented. If you think homeschoolers are immune to this, be warned. Top homeschool curriculum companies such as Saxon have already adopted Common Core and are revamping their entire curriculum to accomodate it. The final phase then ends in testing kids who have been taught Common Core standards. If my homeschooled kids are not taught Common core standards then they won't do well on SAT's. Homschoolers are not immune to this ludicrous curriculum being adopted in America. Watch to the end of this short video on what Dr. Duke Pesta has to say about homeschooling and CC.

You can also order a video on Stopping the Common Core for a $10 donation over at Concerned Women for America.

If you would like to help, please sign this petition to STOP COMMON CORE IN MAINE

And one last word from your child's teacher...even some teachers know their jobs are being threatened by new changes in curriculum and data processing. I didn't even touch on that (data mining), you can learn more about that here.

http://spunkyhomeschool.blogspot.com/ has been working very hard to stop Common Core in her home state. Her site is well worth checking out. She has done a TON of research and people are listening! She recently gave her testimony before the Michigan Education Committee. SpunkyHomeschool Does not Align To Obamacore Go SpunkyHomeschool!!!!

There are many more websites out there to research this for yourself. These are just a few I have compiled that have stood out to me this week.

Please be informed of what is taking place without parental consent in your children's schools and PRAY! Our children belong to us, not to the government. Lest you believe compulsory schooling has always been in existence you can read a whole truth about the history of our American education system here.

My T.R.I.P. Update-Final Post!

We are coming in for a landing!!!

We have come to the end of our reading and writing journey with the Targeted Reading Improvement Program, also known as, T.R.I.P. To read more about why we started this program and  follow our progress through it you can follow the links below.

Why we started this T.R.I.P.!

First Update

Update number two

Update number three

A little information about the T.R.I.P. program...

From a trusted homeschool curriculum reviewer, Cathy Duffy,

"TRIP grew out of years of clinical work with students with reading problems. The same techniques used in one-on-one clinical lessons can now be done at home with parental guidance at far less cost with this interactive video program. The program is very nicely done with bright, colorful graphics and a clean, easy to use layout..." 

www.cathyduffyreviews.com

TRIP was created by Walter C. Waid and Jordan H. Price, teachers with a combined total of 40 years experience working with special needs, ADD, ADHD, Dyslexic, and special ed students. They received their degrees and teaching credentials from California State University Long Beach and Fullerton California, respectively. 

SPECIAL FEATURES 

TRIP Contains 20 lessons. Each lesson consists of 3 parts. Plus A How to To Instructional Video With Step-By-Step Teaching Instructions.

Below is a sample video of what you will see when you purchase the DVD.

The program is divided up into three parts.

Part 1: WORD LISTS

These contain 160 basic sight and phonetic words for instant recognition. Spelling practice is incorporated as well. You, the parent, administer this program with your child, just as though you were a private tutor. You make a check beside each word as your child reads the words correctly. My son breezed through the 160 words with little difficulty. My daughter is just learning to read so she had quite a bit of trouble reading the words. We will definitely revisit this program with her in another year or two.

Here are three of my kids. My 10 year-old is working through the flashing words at a fast pace. My 5 year-old is waiting patiently for her turn while my 3 year-old looks on.

Part 2: FLASHING PRACTICE. 

This consists of flashing a series of symbols, letters, numbers and words on the screen. Students have a choice of three speeds and write down what they see. This is designed to improve visual imagery for better spelling and reading accuracy. My kids loved this part of the program. My son enjoyed controlling the laptop flashing by pressing the flash button after each shape/line or word or number revealed. We started at the beginner level for my daughter but my son really had a blast working at the faster pace to challenge himself to write the symbols he saw before they disappeared!

Here is my son checking over his word list after completing the flashing words.

Part 3: STORY CARD. 

10 sight words are reinforced with each story card which is read aloud. Students practice writing down the words while following directions and answering simple comprehension questions. For this section of the program I had my son read the story out loud. In doing this, I was able to catch any words he was mispronouncing or transposing. I found he has a  tendency to place words not written there into the context as he tries to read through a sentence. For instance the sentence might say, "There were tears in her eyes." He would actually say, "There are tears in her eyes."

Overall, for the price of the DVD at only $19.99, I think this program is well worth it. The T.R.I.P. website explains that "private reading centers and tutors charge anywhere from $65.00 a lesson and up. Many tutoring centers will not even take special needs readers."  I'm so glad we were able to try this program out. If your child is a slow reader, a struggling reader, has ADD/ADHD, dyslexia, or other reading problems, this would be a great tool for parents to use to help their child become better readers. I think this program can really help a child break bad habits in reading and spelling and even writing as they work through the written flash words, and read through the spelling lists. At the end of 20 lessons, your child will be confident they can read through 160 words and you, the parent, will have an idea of where your child's strengths and weaknesses are in both reading and writing. You will be able to be more confident moving forward whether you homeschool or your child goes to public/private school knowing you have helped your child improve their reading skills!

Follow T.R.I.P. on Facebook.

Follow T.R.I.P. on Twitter.

I received a free copy of this DVD to review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the FTC Regulations. I am part of The CWA Review Crew.

Our Curriculum This Year!

School starts tomorrow for us so I thought I would put on my blog what we are diving into this year! It should be lots of fun. I've spent HOURS pouring over curriculum and ended up going with a variety of sources to fit our needs. I was originally looking at purchasing the BJU Press DVD courses for all of my kids but read a lot of blogs that said while the material is top notch, most parents felt their kids didn't enjoy watching ALL the dvd's. I couldn't see RENTING DVD's that my kids may or may not watch. So we opted to go with several curriculum packages that offer DVD instructors that I will OWN and can RESELL at a later date when we are done with them! The DVD's do really enhance our homeschooling experience though. I am able to offer top notch "private school teachers" to my kids at affordable rates!



For preschool my little girls, (turning 2 and 4 this fall/winter) will be learning along with their older sibling for 3rd grade history and Sonlight science. They will also have their very own curriculum using a variety of soucres including Hooked On Phonics, Phonics Pathways, and Weaver Interlock Program. I also bought the Veritas Press Phonics Museum. This is just an absolutely beautiful program. We will probably take a few years to go through this program but I really like the way integrates great works of art into the alphabet and phonics program. Math will be learning through play and hands on activities. Lots of fun and make believe time too with blocks, playdough, puzzles, dress-up, sand/water table, etc.! Learning through play will be the focus but there will be workbooks too as they show interest.


We are going to be studying U.S. History and biology using Sonlight Core D with my 3rd grader. My preschoolers may join in on many of the fun activities and read alouds too!

My middle schooler will be studying World History/U.S. History with My Father's World and this will be the core for our entire family essentially. I plan to integrate the two U.S. history cores together at different points so the whole family can learn together. There are a lot of fun activities with this course, including cooking and hands on activities using Story of the World Activity Pages. This also includes an art program using God and The History of Art that I will be doing with most of the kids. The music and Bible activities we will use with the whole family. This course suggests a one year study of "Then Sings My Soul" by Robert J. Morgan a look at 150 of the World's Greatest Hymn Stories. I'm really excited about that so my kids can learn about the rich heritage of hymns and how they came to be. My high schooler will learn to play the songs so we can all learn to sing along! For science he will be studying Apologia Physical Science. Math we are finally switching from Switched on Schoolhouse to Teaching Textbooks Pre-Algebra. My son is very excited about his new math program. We were hoping that SOS was going to be similar to Teaching Textbooks but found it to be so much more frustrating and time consuming than FUN.

My high schooler will be finishing up his credits for World History and Geography using a variety of sources,

 Diana Waring's History Revealed,

Mystery of History , BJU World History, Around the World in 180 Days (geography course), with a variety of living books as well as Teaching Company has a wonderful DVD World History course to go alongside his textbook studies. For math he will continue with our much loved Teaching Textbooks Geometry. For science we can't wait to start Apologia Chemistry! We purchase the instructor DVD to go along with this course and find that it greatly enhances the whole learning experience. Red Wagon tutorials carries a wonderful DVD companion to the Apologia course. There will also be outside reading and notebooking/lapbooking to further enhance the course. There are a couple of sources that carry lapbooks/notebooking for Apologia. We have only used Knowledge Box Central so far and really liked the product but I am also looking at another site, similarly priced here, Live and Learn Press.

Language Arts as well as some Bible will be a literature study of World History and the History of God's Kingdom (using Sonlight's Bile core program) literature studying The Cat Of Bubastes,The Epic of Gilgamesh, Homer's The Iliad and the Odyssey, Julius Ceasar, The Tale of Two Cities, Pride and Prejudice, and other great works including The Pilgrim's Progress, The Hiding Place, Animal Farm, Heart of Darkness, The Abolition of Man, Here I Stand, The Imitation of Christ, Mere Christianity,Eric Lidell Pure Gold, What if Jesus Had Never Been Born?, From Jerusalem to Irian Jaya, John Calvin, and many others. On his own, my high schooler continues to study Modern U.S. History and botany and whatever else interests him.

There will also be an in depth study of The Iliad by Homer using the Teaching Company cd course as well as an in depth study on the differences between polytheism and monotheism based around the book, The Secret of The Scribe. More work in Wordly Wise vocabulary books and 10th grade compostion with Writing Strands and Writer's INC.

He also is working through Rosetta Stone for Spanish and Learn and Play the piano DVD's.

I also have a physical education curriculum to follow so my high schooler can get a 1/2 credit for.

Phew! I know there's more we will do, this is just what I have plotted so far. I hope we can get it all done!       

Princess Party and new Homeschool curriculum!

Who would have thought we would be having a princess party after three boys? But it's true my dd is turning three tomorrow and it hardly seems possible!

We have been busy making preparations for the party in the midst of starting a new curriculum. We are trying the Winter Promise http://www.winterpromise.com/ high school edition of Quest for the Ancient World. We are also following Diana Waring's Ancient Civilizations cd's as well but found the book to be too hard to implement. It took us nearly two months to get through one unit because it lacked clear set daily goals for my kids. I like to see my lesson plans written out "Sonlight style", http://www.sonlight.com/ I call it and that's exactly what Winter Promise has done. It's so much like the user friendly Sonlight materials. I plan to use both throughout the coming years as the Lord provides the funding!
Yesterday I set up an archeological site survey in the back yard implenting the first activity in the Archeology for Kids         http://www.amazon.com/Archaeology-Kids-Uncovering-Mysteries-Activities/dp/1556523955/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1288352096&sr=8-1

It went really well. It took a lot of work to map out the site of a 10 x 10 square. The boys decided they definitely did not want to be archeologists but they came away with a better understanding and appreciation of what archeologists actually do and why! http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.answersingenesis.org%2Farticles%2Fnab%2Fdoes-archaeology-support-the-bible&h=d5e09 Here is a great article about how archeologists help people BELIEVE the Bible as historical TRUTH.

TRUTH. That's what I try to teach my kids. We discuss a lot of things thoughout the day and that's part of the reason we enjoy homeschool so much! My ds who is 12 is a constant talker. When he was in 2nd grade in the Christian school (before homeschooling) his teacher said he talked too much! No kidding?! Well, I let him talk all he wants because that's how he learns and processess the world is through discussion. It's not an easy day, but it's worth the effort when I see my kids getting along well with one another and ENJOYING life together!