Confessions of a Homeschooler 2013 Blog Planner Review

I'm a new member of Mosaic Reviews and to start off our team was asked to do a review on free blog planners.   I was really excited because I never even heard of a blog planner.   I eagerly searched through the list of blog planners provided to us and found the one I wanted at Confessions of a Homeschooler.

I've been a follower of Erica at Confessions of a Homeschooler since I started homeschooling a few years ago.  I love her style, ideas, and her many printables and programs.   When I saw that Erica had come up with blog planner my choice was made.  Isn't it beautiful?  I love the pretty flowers and the whole design.   The calendar is done entirely in beautiful colors and makes you feel inspired to get organized just by looking at it.

This blog planner comes in two formats: a monthly post format calendar and one that offers a post layout.  This is more in list form with dates where you can fill in your details.   This planner starts with a year at a glance calendar.   It then has a page for each month that is for your notes.  There is a place for you write down your reviews/giveaways, ideas, and your monthly statistics.  There are small boxes on the calendar where you can check off the social media sites that you have posted to including Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Google +.   There is even a small box to check off if you've scheduled a post that day and if you have a giveaway/winner.

One thing that I still have to do is quickly bind it at my local office supply store.   This will just cost a few dollars.  The instructions were to print the front and back cover in cardstock for more durability.   I ended up doing the whole calendar on cardstock since I knew I would be using it heavily.

The PROS

Did I mention this is FREE?   I've been completely inspired and my calendar is keeping me very organized.   No more racking my brain for details or searching my email for a certain one that I need.  Now I can simply have everything I need in one place.  I can also now give quicker information back to my vendors.

The CONS

I have to say that I used up a lot of ink to print this in color.  It's so pretty though that I'm not complaining all that much.   I also would've liked to see a vendor information page to track in more detail information about the people I'm working with. 

Please check out Erica at Confessions of a Homeschooler.  She is truly inspirational and has really helped me in my homeschool journey.   Homeschooling children is hard work but she looks like she does it effortlessly with four children.

Mosaic Reviews will be posting different blog planner reviews done by their review planner after March 1.   Check it out!

POST CARD EXCHANGE

#1

Are you ready for some fun?

I'm very excited to be organizing a USA Post Card Swap for all of our fellow homeschoolers.   What is this you might ask?  It's when one person from each state agrees to send out post cards from their state to every person participating.   How awesome is this?

Think of how fun it will be to see all of those post cards arrive in your mailbox.  This is a fantastic opportunity to help your child learn while having loads of fun.    Get out your map of the United States and encourage your child to find each state that a post card arrives for.   Place a star on your map for easy reference.   The learning curve on this is endless!

How do you sign up?

I will be accepting the first person in each state that emails me at Susiehomeschooler@aol.com.   Please send me your name and address along with the name of your state in the subject line.   Once I receive all the requests I will then email out the address list to all of the participants.

If you receive an email from me directly then you are confirmed for the state you live in.   If there is enough interest we will then do a second swap.    Please email me if you're interested no later then Wednesday, March 6th.

Sorry ladies and gents but I have to grab Florida as my state.  Can't wait to send you all out a post card!

ANTONYM DIAMANTE POEM

Yesterday I taught the children in my Creative Writing co-op class how to write antonym diamante poems.   This type of poem is done in the shape of a diamond.  Each line uses specific types of words like nouns, adjectives, and words ending with  -ing.  Words don't have to rhyme.

Format:

Beginning Topic

Adjective, adjective (about beginning topic)

-ing word, -ing word, -ing word (about beginning topic)

Four nouns or a phrase of words (about beginning and then ending topic)

-ing word, -ing word, -ing word (about ending topic)

Adjective, adjective (about ending topic)

Ending Topic

The children (ages 6-8) did amazing!!!!  They kept wanting to come up with more and more poems during the entire class.  Here is an example of one of their poems...

Cats

Fluffy, Soft

Meowing, Cuddling, Sprinting

Stares silently at you, barks loudly at noise

Barking, Sleeping, Sniffing

Fun, energetic

Dogs

and another...

Summer

Sun, Play
Relaxing, Swimming, Tanning, 

Laying at the pool, comfortable in the house

Shivering, snowboarding, freezing

Snowman, sled

Winter

BIO POEMS

I'm teaching Creative Writing to first and second graders in my homeschool co-op.   My goal for this class is to make writing fun and easy.  Half of the class love to write and half hate it.   Hopefully I'll have a group of happy writers each week.

The focus on the first class was learning about acrostic poems.  The kids loved this and thought it was easy.    Now it was on to writing bio poems using the packet biopeomsmadeeasy that I got free on TeacherspayTeachers. I used this simple template and had each child write the answers to the questions on the line provided.

First Name______________ 

3 Words That Describe You_____________

Lover of______________

Who is able to__________ 

Who feels______________

Who wonders___________

Who fears______________________

Who would like to________

Who dreams_____________

I first did an example on the board describing myself.

Susie

Creative, Energetic, Thoughtful

Lover of good books, chocolate, and lip gloss

Who is able to make pierogies from scratch

Who feels happy being with family

Who wonders what heaven is like

Who fears spiders and snakes

Who would like to travel the world

Who dreams of the day when there will be peace on this earth

Now it was time for the kids to do their own bio poem.  Batman wrote his and couldn't wait to read his in front of the class.   

Batman

Fun, Cool, Fast

Lover of Batman and Spiderman

Who is able to ride my bike really fast

Who feels happy

Who wonders why I can't eat lollipops for breakfast

Who fears snakes

Who would like to play

Who dreams of mommy and daddy

All of the kids did amazing and almost all wanted to get up and read their bio poem in front of the class.   I gave homework to each child to go home and write a bio poem on a fictional or non-fictional character.   Can you guess who Batman chose?  You guessed it...Batman!  =)

Next week...diamante poems.

SCIENCE FAIR

1st Place Winner!

"ROTTEN TEETH"

I  remember a few months ago when my son asked yet again for soda to drink when we went out to eat.  I wouldn't let him have any and he didn't understand why all his friends could have it and not him.    No six year old cares about benzene, chemicals, additives, etc.   A little boy just knows something tastes good and he wants more.  I decided to try a different approach and talked to him about what happens to your teeth over time if you drank sugary, acidic drinks.      

Note...this experiment wasn't meant at all to scare Batman but to gently guide him into making healthier choices.  That includes eating plenty of fruits and vegetables instead of sugary, hydrogenated oil laden food.  Also, choosing water over sugary drinks.

I showed Batman a child appropriate clip on youtube about bad teeth and asked him if he wanted to do an experiment with teeth.  He thought it would be "cool" so I took the next step.    I asked my girlfriend if her husband (my dentist) could get me some real teeth.   I know, kind of gross but I wanted the experiment to be as authentic as possible.   He was kind enough to give me six sterilized teeth in really good condition.  All white, with no decay.

We were required to have each step of the SCIENTIFIC METHOD included in our project.  They include:

Question

Hypothesis

Material List

Detailed Procedure

Graphs

Results

Conclusion

Here goes our project.

Question:  What effect does certain drinks have on teeth over time?

Hypothesis:   Batman thought that soda (specifically pepsi) would show the most decay.

Material List:  5 teeth, 5 small containers with lids, 2 oz. each of pepsi, sports drink, orange juice, apple juice, and water, measuring cup, camera, kitchen scale.

Detailed Procedure:

1.  First Batman weighed each tooth and documented the appearance of each. I put a piece of aluminum foil on the scale for the tooth to sit on.

2.  Next he measured out 2 oz. of liquid for each container and put one tooth in.  Each container was labeled.

.

 3.  Each tooth sat in the liquid for 21 days at room temperature.
4.   Each tooth was then weighed again and the appearance of each tooth was documented.

 This is a picture of all of the teeth after having soaked in each liquid for 21 days.  They are in order left to right: soda, sports drink, orange juice, apple juice, and water.  

Graphs:  Batman did two graphs.  One showed the before and after weight of each tooth.  For the second graph Batman asked his friends what their favorite drink was.   

Results:  The tooth dipped in soda showed the most decay.  The weight of this tooth decreased by .44g.  

Conclusion:  Batman's hypothesis was correct that the tooth soaked in soda would show the most decay.   Proper oral hygiene is key to protecting your teeth.  

Side note:  All teeth except the one soaking in water showed decay.  The teeth soaking in soda and sports drink showed significant decay.

 Batman did a great job on his board.  He did all of the writing, coloring, and pasting.  I helped with the placement of things, and typed up the headers.   Batman had to talk to four judges and did a great job explaining his project.

BATMAN ROCKS!

Homeschool Science Share & Tell

Evan-Moor "Explorers of North America"

Grades 4-6+

REVIEW & GIVEAWAY

Evan-Moor, leader in education material recently gave me the opportunity to review "History Pockets-Explorers of North America" for grades 4-6+.   Batman got a lot out of the History Pockets we did for grades 1-3 so I was excited to see what the next level was all about.   I was lucky enough to have my special helper "Wonder Woman" complete this product since she is the appropriate age for this special project.

  

  This book contains eleven discover pockets that feature:

*a reproducible pocket label

*a bookmark of short, fun facts about the subject

*a reference map of the voyage(s) made by the explorer

*a fact sheet of background information for teacher and students

*arts and crafts projects

*writing activities

The book includes the following pockets:

*Introduction to Explorers of North America

*Christopher Columbus

*John Cabot

*Hernando Cortes

*Jacques Cartier

*Sir Francis Drake

*Henry Hudson

*Daniel Boone

*James Cook

*Lewis and Clark

*John Wesley Powell

“I really, really liked the Daniel Boone History Pocket that we did because their were lots of hands on arts and crafts such as coloring, pasting and creating poems.  At times I really had to think but that is fine with me because I enjoy a challenge.  Thank you.”

~ Wonder Woman

  

“As a home educator, I truly appreciate the fun-aspect of the Evan-Moor History Pockets.  The directions are clear, the materials are easy to assemble and within a short time, my child can see the fruit of her labor.  The pages come to life when colored with colored pencils or crayons, and the homemade pockets are great to store the beautifully illustrated unit study in as a keepsake to enjoy.  The amount of projects in Explorers of North America Grades 4-6 allowed us to choose what we wanted to cover based on our other studies.  With eleven projects to choose from, we were well-provided with great lessons and fun, fast facts.  Though we could have completed the project in one day, we chose to take our time throughout the week and really talk about the fast facts and the ‘about’ page which taught us a lot about Daniel Boone’s life and adventures, while the limerick activity gave us some new knowledge in Language Arts.  Evan-Moor has really captured a great niche with the History Pockets – we plan to start on the other ten projects right away!” -Wonder Woman's mom

Now is your chance to win a free copy of Evan-Moor "Explorers of North America" for grades 4-6+ (a $15.99 value)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

However, all opinions expressed on Confessions of a Homeschooler are solely my own, and I only suggest products Disclaimer: I received a copy of Evan-Moor "Explorers of North America" in exchange for an honest review.  All opinions presented herein are my own.  

hat I believe will be helpful to my 

VALENTINE'S DAY ACROSTIC POEMS

I recently started teaching a Creative Writing class at my homeschool co-op for 6-8 year olds.   Writing hasn't been a favorite subject for Batman and I was hoping to start fresh with this class.  I created a syllabus that I think is lots of fun and already I'm seeing a lot of positive responses from my students.

The first week we had fun learning about acrostic poems.   Anyone can do this in a matter of minutes so it's great for those students who need a bit of a push to get them to write.    All you do is take a word and write the letters of the word vertically on a sheet of paper.  Now think of a word or sentence that starts with that specific letter.   

In honor of Valentine's Day I found pretty "love" paper so your child can write an acrostic poem.   Here is my son's version:

Laughing

                            Opening all my Valentine's

                       Visits to the park are fun

                     Eating yummy cookies

Practice writing acrostic poems using your name, the seasons, food, holidays, and so much more.   Check out pinterest for some great printables!

EVAN-MOOR INTERACTIVE COURSEWARE

I use a lot of Evan-Moor curriculum when I teach Batman and so do a lot of my friends.   It's user friendly, has a great variety of subjects to choose from, and it's correlated to core standards.  How easy is that?    Evan-Moor has yet another learning opportunity for your child called "Interactive Courseware" .

Powered by

Portals is a free learning platform that allows you to launch your Evan-Moor interactive courseware.  It provides a place where, much like itunes, educators can store and access all of their Evan-Moor courseware.   Students are able to work independently while completing interactive lessons.  

Portals comes with a free trial of every one of Evan-Moor's interactive apps.  That's over 150 interactive lessons that you can simply download and use.   If you decide to purchase your app, it will automatically be added to your Portals library where you can easily manage your lessons in one spot. 

Writing is one subject that wasn't Batman's favorite.   Now that he's in first grade I knew this was one area that I was really going to have to work intently on with him.    I had Batman  work on "Super Sentence Maker".

This courseware was broken down into three sections: builders, starters, and creators.

In the "builders" section Batman had to build a sentence broken down in three main areas: describing word, who or what, and did what.

I would then save the sentence so we could talk about it.   I sometimes would have him point out the noun or verb as an extra since we were also working on that in school.

In the "starters" section Batman would have to pick sentence and add a describing word for it.   He could also use a machine to generate a sentence answering where, when, what, etc.  This was a great way for him to learn about drawing out his sentence.  

In the "creators" section, Batman was given a sentence but had to make changes to it.   That included coming up with a new who, what, where, and when.

I noticed that Batman started writing using more descriptive words which made for better sentences.   This learning platform also had three levels to it so he could easily move on to the next level once he was ready.

I really like the "Super Sentence Maker" and have been impressed with the growth Batman has shown in his writing.  I was encouraged enough that I started teaching creative writing in my homeschool co-op this term.    I couldn't believe it when Batman told me that writing is his favorite class!!!!

Download Portals today and receive a free trial of every Evan-Moor app.

Choose from subjects such as spelling, geography, science, math, and more! Great for all age groups and learning levels!

Turn Your Old Games Into FUN, NEW LEARNING GAMES!

A few months ago I went to a really neat "Enrichment Day" sponsored by a homeschool group that I'm a member of.    The idea was for each member to bring a homemade or commercial game that they adapted for a different use for learning.   The creativity I saw was amazing!  Such fun ideas for learning just by using some creativity.     

One of the mom's had a fabulous idea that involved the building block game "Jenga".    She used it as a learning tool to help her son practice his multiplication facts.   Now my son is in first grade and I haven't begun to teach him that.  What I wanted was a fun game using application facts.  

I simply went to one of my favorite sites called teacherspayteachers and found some FREE  Jenga printables.

I simply printed off the addition equations, cut, and then taped one to each block.  Then we simply played the game like usual.  If you picked a block then you had to answer the addition question.  This was so much fun!

Check out these links:

FREE ADDITION PRINTABLE

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/FREE-Addition-Facts-Jenga

FREE MULTIPLICATION PRINTABLE

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/FREE-Multiplication-Facts-Jenga

Check back tomorrow and I'll show you a simple way I practice parts of speech with Batman.   This is all done by recycling a game I have at home. Can you believe that my 6 year old LOVES to figure out the parts of speech and begs me to do this game?

VALENTINE STAINED GLASS COOKIE POPS

by 

The Desperate Craftwives

It's never too early to start thinking about Valentine's Day.  Our Guest Blogger Blythe over at The Desperate Craftwives has outdone herself with these amazing cookie pops.  They look yummy and actually aren't too hard to make.  I think I will have to put this on my "to do" list.

LOVE!!

FREE MOTIVATIONAL CERTIFICATES

It seems like my six year old is totally motivated by awards and certificates.   He loves a high-five, pat on the back, etc. but man he loves his awards.   He turned his bedroom door into his award wall and proudly displays his perfect score spelling tests, cub scout ribbons, and other important things.

In search of some new certificates I came across a company called certificate street.  They have an amazing amount of free certificates on every subject.   Choose from sports, school, home, or even relationship awards and so much more.   Did I mention these were FREE?????

Here are some cute examples:

Check them out for a quick and easy way to quickly motivate your child!

CafePress Review & Giveaway

I received an email from the kind people over at cafepress this week offering one of my wonderful followers a special treat (keep reading to find out what it is).   I love their stuff and was amazed at the wonderful selection including homeschool products!

Cafepress is an awesome online store that has "the world's largest of artist-designed t-shirts, clothing, accessories, housewares, and gifts".  The selection of items is unbelievable.  Make sure you carve out some extra time in your schedule to check out their site.  Once you're on it you won't want to get off!

I've been on the search for a cool looking cover so I went under cafepress iphone5 cases and gifts. I found the perfect one and I can even get it personalized for no extra charge.   I LOVE THIS!!!

 

WE

We seem to be much on board in my household with technology.  My husband just ended up buying our second ipad which I gladly will take over. Why in the world does everything have to be so dull in design?   Your ipad doesn't have to be after one look at their amazing ipad covers.   I love damask and I was thrilled to see this smart, yet pretty looking damask cover for my ipad.  Choose from any number of styles such as vintage, art, retro, funky, and more.   

I'm always looking for one of a kind gifts to give.   Receiving a  personalized gift is always extra special.  Cafepress has an incredible amount of items you can get for yourself or for gifts.   Customized t-shirts, photo books, glasses, baby wear, houswares, and more.  Check out a few pictures below on some special items you can personalize:

Cafepress is offering one of my followers a $25 gift card towards any purchase.   Enter below for your chance at winning an amazing prize!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

As required by the FTC: I received no monetary compensation for this post. I received a product sample for the purpose of my review. All opinions expressed are mine and mine alone.

TOP 5 POSTS OF 2012

I started this blog in August 2012 after thinking about doing one for many months.    I was encouraged by friends and family to show what homeschooling was all about.   Susie Homeschooler was born and the rest you say is history.

Thank you to all of my loyal followers.  Your emails and comments have been wonderful and have often made my day.   A special thank you to my sponsors!  I use your curriculum and products and I'm sold!  I don't promote anything that I don't use and love while homeschooling.

Here are the TOP 5 POSTS that got the most attention by you in 2012.  

ENJOY!!

1.  INSIDE THE EARTH

2.  MAKE A LIQUID RAINBOW

3.  BUTTERFLY CRAFT MOSAIC

4.  FEEDING CHILDREN EVERYWHERE

5.  NATIVE AMERICAN HISTORY POCKET REVIEW & GIVEAWAY BY EVAN-MOOR

5.  

NEW YEAR'S TRADITIONS!

I'm back from my holiday break just in time for New Year's.   I started thinking about all of the traditions we do for the holidays each year.   When it came to New Year's I must admit that I don't have anything spectacular on my list.  I do remember as a child my dad making sauerkraut and pork for New Year's Day.   That just didn't do it for me though.

I'd love to know what you do to make the holiday fun and exciting.  Leave me a comment below.  I can't wait to jazz it up this year!

SNOWFLAKE PROJECT

Help the children of Sandy Hook Elementary

I know that we were all affected deeply by the tragic shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School.   I'm sure that we all hugged and kissed our children a bit more after watching the story unfold.    Many of us live many miles away from Newtown and want to help these poor families and students someway.     Many students who have been traumatized by the recent events will return to a new school in a nearby town after the new year.

The Hudson Ohio PTA and Connecticut PTSA are hoping to create a "Winter Wonderland" as the students return to school.    Children all across the country can help and show their support by making paper snowflakes.   They encourage students to be as creative and have fun! 

Please send all snowflakes by January 12 to:

Connecticut PTSA
60 Connolly Parkway
Building 12, Suite 103
Hamden, CT 06514

WET ONES STICKY SITUATION CONTEST

Have you ever been in a sticky situation where your child is in need of a Wet One stat?  I have so I entered an awesome contest that Wet Ones is having on Facebook called Sticky Situations.   It's really simple!  Just go to Wet Ones Sticky Situation Contest on Facebook and upload your best sticky situation and the story behind it.

Do you have a sticky Birthday Party picture to share?  Every year my son ends up with more cake on his hands and face then what he ate.  I always laugh and then proceed to clean the colored frosting off him.   I'm a huge fans of Wet Ones!   I always have a canister for my car and the individually wrapped Wet Ones for my purse.  I never leave home without them.  They are great to wipe down a supermarket cart.  These places are loaded with nasty germs.    

Another way I use Wet Ones is before we eat any food while going out for food.   Before we place our food order at a drive-thru the first thing we do is to all wash our hands with Wet Ones.    When we eat inside a restaurant we wash our hands and clean the table.   

Now is the time to enter the contest.  Dig up your best photo and submit it by December 28.   You could win the 

Grand Prize of a brand new Ipad mini

or 3 runner-ups will win

Tickets for 4 people to go to Six Flags

Good Luck!

I participated in a campaign on behalf of Mom Central Consulting for Wet Ones. I received a promotional item to thank me for participating.”