What Are We Reading? - October 2020

Hey, y'all!  I know it has been a LONG time since my last post, but it was a nice, much needed break.  So, how are y'all?  How is your school year going so far?  We started our school year a little later than normal, but we are back in the swing of things, thankfully.

Well, here is what we are reading this month.  

Homeschool Planner Picks

Can you believe it’s July already? I don’t know about you, but I get excited about July for one it’s my husband's birthday and for two I get a pullout, my new homeschooling planners!  Here are the two planners I will be using for the 2019-2020 school year.

EdAlive - Math and Typing Fun - Review

Can y'all believe we are already near the summer?  I'm still trying to figure out where did the time go.  Although we school year round here at Cooks Christian Academy, our summers are lighter.  I like to make sure they are still learning something but without a lot of book work.  The kids recently spent some time brushing up on their typing and math skills with EdAlive.  We received a one-year subscription to their Typing Tournament Online and Maths Invaders Online in exchange for our honest review.  Using the Typing Tournament has been like having a Typing Tutor in our home and Math Invaders has been a great way for them to get some extra math practice in.  Go grab your coffee or tea and come sit with us for a while so that we can tell you all about them.

What We Read in April

I missed posting what we read in March because we were so busy with the move, and now I don't even remember what all we read. Anyway, I do have what we read in April ready for you. I still can't believe we are already in April I mean where did the time go? Go grab your coffee or tea, pen, ad notebook and join me as I share with you what our family read in April.

The Secret of the Hidden Scrolls - Books 3 and 4 Book Review

Hey, Y'all!  The kids and I are back with an awesome book review, just for you!  This series is one of the kids' favorite.  We all love to read for the most part and we are always looking for a good book to listen to or curl up on the couch and read. It can get tough sometimes trying to find appropriate books that are entertaining and give good life lessons or morals.  I was very curious when we were offered the opportunity to read books 3 and 4 of The Secret of the Hidden Scrolls series from WorthyKids, an imprint of Hachette Book Group.  We had never heard of the series or of the author, M.J. Thomas, so I did some research.  Needless to say, I was impressed, so go grab your coffee and join us as we take you back to Bible days.

Free Resource Friday

Free Resource Friday is back!  If this is your first time on my blog and you are not sure what Free Resource Friday is let me tell you all about it.  That is the day that I will be sharing free resources with you.  When I originally started doing this it was my intention to post a free resource every Friday, but let's be real life happens.  So now I will be sharing a free resource with you randomly on a Friday.  I hope to share at least 2 a month.  I am really excited about today's resource because, it not just one, but several free resources.

Balancing Diapers and Deadlines - Review

I'm writing this as I sit here and sip on a nice, warm cup of coffee.  You see I realize that life can be full as a wife and mom.  Full of appointments, errands, needs, wants, lists, plans, love, tears, prayers I could keep going, but I think you get the point.  If you add homeschool to that it gets even fuller, a work from home position, now it seems like the bubble is about to burst at any moment.  The joys of being a stay-at-home wife, homeschool, working, mom...
Did you hear the tires screech?  Now, in all seriousness it is joyful, however, life can seem overwhelming and stressful if we don't manage all of our hats right.  That is why I was thrilled to take the Balancing Diapers and Deadlines course from Lisa Tanner Writing.  Being a homeschool blogger is fun and I love to encourage other homeschooling moms, BUT my family MUST always come first.  That's why I happily agreed to review this course; to get some work-at-home productivity tips.  I hope you don't run when you see the word diapers.  Stick around and see what this time management for busy moms course has to offer.

St. Bartholomew's Eve - A Heirloom Audio Review

It has been cold and rainy here, so we have been enjoying lots of "cuddle in the living room" with a good book time.  Not just physical books, we've also been enjoying a couple of audio dramas as well.

Our most recent one is Heirloom Audio, latest release, St. Bartholomew's Eve.  We've listened to and reviewed, Wulf The Saxon production earlier this year, so we were excited about the opportunity to review this one. 

Our 9th Grade Year Wrap Up - Homeschool Edition

When I started homeschooling, my oldest daughter was starting her 6th-grade year.  I had no idea what I was doing, and high school wasn't even on my radar.  As the years went by, who am I kidding, as they flew by, I started wondering how was I going to homeschool her through high school.  I started researching and looking into what she would need, transcripts, credits, colleges, etc.  I was so overwhelmed and started to freak out.  I even started to doubt myself.  I remember feeling there is no way I can do this. NO WAY!  My husband encouraged me a lot, and I begin to pray, and then finally I stopped researching.  I remembered that God gave me this child and He knew I was able to do this.  So when her freshman year started, we just jumped in.  You can find what our plans were HERE.   This first year has been a real blessing and we have learned so much, not only academically, but also spiritually, and about each other.  By focusing more on her and not what everyone else suggested was needed for a freshman, I was able to see her strengths and weaknesses and help her overcome obstacles.  This has been one of the most rewarding homeschool years, and it has nothing to do with how smart she is, and she is pretty smart if I may say so myself.
I asked my daughter if she would share how her 9th grade school year went, with you all, and she said yes.  So her is the lovely Mrs. Kae!

Printable Books of the Bible "Summary Sheets" - Review

Our family has been using Book-By-Book Bible Printables from Teach Sunday School to teach an overview of each book of the Bible.
Have you guys ever wanted an at-a-glance view of a specific book of the Bible?  Do you ever wonder who wrote a particular book in the Bible? I know my children, myself, and even my husband often wonder those things especially about those books we may overlook sometimes. Well if that's ever a problem for you or someone you know, you will love these printables!

By the Way Review - Science, History, and Geography from a Biblical worlview

Geography, history, and science are all subjects that my children do together as a group.  From time to time we like to veer off from our curriculum and learn about something else.  That's one of the many things I love about homeschool!   So recently we put our study of the Romans on hold so that we could check out By the Way. We were given the opportunity to read and review New York City - By the Way, one of the books in the By the Way Book Series.  My youngest son has wanted to take a vacation to New York since as long as I can remember so, I knew I would enjoy reading this to him and the other kids.  However, this is not just a book you can read, this is a book you get involved in!  Many discussions and activities sparked from this book.

Dear New Homeschool Mama

This year has really run by us.  Can you believe we are already in August?  We are actually, creeping into the month September.  Now, I am not complaining about that because fall is my favorite season!  
In the homeschool community, many of us are either prepping to start a new school year, or we have just recently started our new year.  With that, I know that somewhere out there, there is a mom who has just made the decision to homeschool.  There is also a mom who is relatively new to it and is still trying to figure this thing called homeschool out.  I remember very vividly when I began my journey as a homeschool mom, it was 5 years ago, but I remember it like it was yesterday.  I was so unsure of everything, I didn't know where to start, I didn't know if I could do it, I was excited, nervous, and scared all at the same time.  I kept asking myself the question, "What if I fail them?"  Yes, I've been there before I'm sure every homeschooling mom has.  Trust me you are not alone in this.  I would love to give you some peace by sharing with you some things I wish I would have known before I got started.

Are you Ready for the Upcoming Homeschool Year?

When a new school year is approaching for us homeschool moms our minds tend to go at 100 miles per hour.  We have so many awesome ideas for the new year, so many things to get done, so many plans, and in the mist of all that comes a little bit of stress, sometimes.  I think it's because we feel like we need to be like the "have it all together homeschool moms" on Pinterest, Instagram, and other social media accounts.  You know the ones that have the perfect homeschool room, spotless house, they even have their homeschool year all planned out before they finish the current year?!  I always wondered how in the world they did it!  I mean and still be able to keep up with the house, spend time with their husband, spend time with the kids, spend time with friends, etc.  I still have no idea but I do know I am NOT that mom and my children are not those children! You know what else I know?  I know that we all have the same amount of hours in a day and what we decide to do with them is up to us.  I like to spend my hours stress-free and for me trying to perfect everything is stressful.  Who has time for stress?  I know I don't!  If I go into my new school year stressed out we will have a stressful school year.  As a mom, the same way we set the tone for our home also applies to how we set the tone for our children's education.  The kids know when there is something wrong with mama.  I know you don't want to add any extra stress to you or your children, right?   After all, school is supposed to be fun not stressful!!  This post is apart of Andrea's, from All The Homeschool Things, Ready, Set, Homeschool blog party.  That is where you can find the rest of my post and trust me you don't want to miss this.  So head on over to Ready, Set, Homeschool blog and see what I have left you there.  You can find the full article here.

In case you were wondering what the Ready, Set Homeschool blog party is, it is where you will find 15 days of tips and hacks to prepare you for the upcoming school year.  So what are you waiting on, why are you still here?  Hurry and head on over and don't forget to enter the giveaway!!

God Schooling: How God Intended Children to Learn - Book Review

It is the beginning of the new homeschool year for most homeschooling families or this is the time when they do all their planning and purchasing of their new curriculum.  We homeschool year round with occasional breaks here and there, however, this is the time that I start buying curriculum, planning, and making changes to our homeschool.  In the midst of all of that, we sometimes forget to stop and ask God what He wants for our homeschool.  I have come to realize over the past 5 years that I have been homeschooling that when I try to do it my way it never works!  So I learned early on to pray and seek God help daily.  I don't see that a lot in the homeschool community though.  Most moms, myself included sometimes, are frantic about if we are doing enough, are our children getting it, what will people think of our kids if they are not on a certain level, etc.  This is why I was happy to read and review God Schooling: How God Intended Children to Learn written by Julie Polanco.  I needed the encouragement before planning out our school year so it was timely. 

Wordless Wednesday - All White Gala

It was a blessing spending the evening with some amazing like-minded women

I want to send a big THANK YOU to Semetra Vanison for making this beautiful dress just for me!

You can find Semetra on Instagram if you are looking for a special design!

Enjoy History with Home School in the Woods - Review

History is a subject that can either be interesting or boring.  I always looked at it as a bunch of books with way too many dates to remember.  However, if presented right History can be very interesting and fun.  My son oldest loves history period, no matter how it is presented, but the rest of the kiddos not so much.  Home School in the Woods does an excellent job at making History not only interesting but fun as well! We are learning about the Roman/Middles Ages time period this year so being able to review the Project Passport World History Studies was right on time for us.  Of course, we chose to try Project Passport: The Middle Ages project first!  This has been the perfect hands-on history add-on to our history lessons.

Free Resource Friday - Education.com

Hey, Y'all! 
Are you staying cool?  
This has been one hot week for us peeps here in Texas!  I'm just trying to keep from frying, so indoors it has been for my family.  It is even too hot to go to the water park!  Anyways, enough about this heat I am back with another free resource for you. 
This week's Free Resource Friday is brought to you by Education.com
Education.com is a website for teachers and parents that provides resources, tools, and learning material that can help improve the education of children. They provide learning resources in over 20 countries and six continents.

Code for Teens - A Coding Guide for Teenagers - Review

You know how much my son loves coding.  You also may remember the online coding class he did earlier this year.  And you already know how our family feels about electronics and children.  <--- We don't encourage it as much as other parents because we feel kids spend too much time on video games and watching how-to videos instead of actually doing.  However, because the world we are living in is becoming more and more technology-driven we want our kids to have some idea of how to navigate in a world full of "tech-geeks".  So we tried our hands and brains at another coding program.  I'm back today with another review for you, Code for Teens: The Awesome Beginner's Guide to Programming (Volume 1) from Code for Teens.

Free Resource Friday - Classiacal Music for Kids

Hello, Y'all!!   I hope you are having a fantastic day!  I know it's around that time to start preparing for the upcoming school year so I would like to share a free resource with you each Friday.  Contrary to what everyone believes homeschooling does not have to cost you an arm and a leg.  There are a ton of free resources out there.

Persuasive Writing for High School - A Homeschool Curriculum Review

Creating a love for writing for children can be challenging and finding a good writing curriculum can be even more challenging especially for a teen. Did I mention a strong-willed teen? Fortunately, she likes to write, however, she enjoys free writing not so much structured writing.  I was both happy and nervous about reviewing Persuasive Writing & Classical Rhetoric: Practicing the Habits of Great Writers by Silverdale Press LLC. I was happy because she would have a solid writing curriculum that would teach her some writing structure and I was nervous because I didn't want this to change her love for writing in a negative way and because in the past most writing curriculum we tried was very parent-prep intensive. I didn't know what to expect going into this but what I did know was that making sure my high school student learn to write well required me to choose a curriculum that teaches that, so here we are.