educational

Learning To Spell with BookShark Language Arts

I am not a strong speller, but with the help of spell check I make do. I don’t want my kids to be relying on spell check for their spelling needs, but instead to have a great foundation in spelling. A strong foundation in learning to spell is just what we are getting this year with BookShark Language Arts.

Learning To Spell with BookShark Language Arts – Level 2

*This post is part of my brand ambassador contract with BookShark, they provided us with this great curriculum, in exchange I’m sharing what I think of it with you. I am 100% honest with you about how I feel using this curriculum. This post does also contains affiliate links, see my disclosure policy for more information.*

The prep work for using BookShark is very minimal for parents, which has always been a plus for me. The Language Arts does require a little advanced preparation for you to do, for example writing flashcards with each week’s spelling words on them. It takes me minutes to write out a few weeks worth of cards at a time, so it’s not a burden whatsoever. I bought my index cards and card file box to store them in. This keeps them together and easy to store away for my other children as we continue homeschooling.

Language Arts Day one of our schedule is writing their words. While the schedule suggests their doing it on a large surface such as a chalkboard or marker board, that didn’t work for my kids. What has been working for us is to write them twice a piece of paper. Simple, but effective. And effective is what we are going for.

Language Arts Day two is a pre-test. We do it just as the BookShark suggested schedule says. I have them look over their spelling words, and once they are ready I will say the word as well as use it in a sentence Then they spell out their word on paper. If they get one wrong they rewrite it.

Language Arts Bonus day: Days 1 and 2 for us are Monday and Tuesday. Wednesday is our day without scheduled lessons, but we use our driving time on this day to practice and master their spelling words. I have written their words on an index card to grab as we head out the door. They sit in the back seat together and ask each other their words.

Language Arts Day 3 is a review day in the schedule, a chance to work on words they have haven’t quite gotten yet. If they aren’t having problems, we have fun making silly sentences as suggested in the schedule. Learning to spell can be a lot fun if you let it.

Language Arts Day 4 is spelling test day! Fun! Since we have started taking our words into the car with us, they have been loving spelling test day because they almost always get them 100% right. They love being able to tell Dad just how well they did when he gets home from work.

Language Arts Level 2 and Level 2 Advanced Spelling

BookShark has three Language Arts options for level :
1. regular
2. intermediate
3. advanced

The reason we are using Level 2 Advanced for my fourth grader is explained in this blog post. But it comes down to wanting to teach my two girls together as much as possible while knowing they are but still in the “proper” grade/age range. We all hear our kids gets asked what grade they are in. For the most part the only true difference we have seen has been their spelling words. In week 7, my girls got a real kick out of the fact that they each had a few of the same words on their spelling lists. They are working on the same type of words each week — compound words, two syllable words that end in -y, etc which makes teaching them.

Our Language Arts Take Away

The biggest help in learning to spell this year has been the ability to take our words with us. That extra time spent on them when they would normally be watching a DVD has made the biggest difference. For example, it took one 45-minute drive to the city to grocery shop for Austin to get the hang of spelling oatmeal. She hates the food itself and for awhile hated even trying to spell it. With a lot of laughing on the drive, she finally mastered it, and remembered it past that day.

BookShark Science 1 Curriculum for 6-8 Year Olds

by Ashley Mullen

We are science lovers. We love making and doing science experiments. I admit I was nervous about getting an actual science curriculum for fear of losing that aspect, but we’ve still gave it a go. BookShark Science has to be one of my kids most looked forward to subjects now. I look forward to it too because I’m learning with them.

BookShark Science 1 Curriculum for 6-8 Year Olds

*This is a sponsored post, meaning that we received this curriculum in order to share it with you.*

We are using the BookShark Science 1 which is for kids aged 6-8 (my girls perfectly this year). BookShark is a literature based curriculum, and if you have followed me on Instagram or read some pasts posts here, then you know we are big fans of books, which is probably the reason we love BookShark so much. There are a number of great books included in this curriculum, plus a DVD, science kit, and of course the parent guide.

The parent guide has the curriculum spread out of 36 weeks, four days a week just like the Reading with History 1 curriculum, a day off to do other things. We aren’t actually doing it that way. And it’s perfectly fine, the guide actually says that it is just a suggestion, make it work for you. We do science twice a week, one day for the reading and worksheets (basically Monday-Wednesday of their schedule) and the next day is all about the hands on experiments.

One thing I quickly want to mention that it is a secular curriculum.

The full list of books and what’s included:

Pasteur’s Fight Against Microbes
Space
First Encyclopedia of the Human Body
Science Activities, Volume 1
The Magic School Bus at the Waterworks
Why Do People Eat?
The Usborne World of Animals Science 1 Instructor’s Guide
Science Supplies Kit 1
Discover & Do, Level 1 (DVD)

We love the books, my oldest has been reading through them since they arrived in July. We love sitting down together on the couch each Tuesday and Thursday (our science days) and reading through the pages before either a) watching a copy linked videos to learn more, b) doing the worksheets, c) watching the DVD, or d) getting hands on and doing the experiments. Such as this quick video I had shared on Instagram one day.

View this post on Instagram
AD We are doing some magnet science today from @bookshark. Definitely my favorite day of the week (when we get hands on). . . . #homeschoolingscience #secularscience #handsonscience #homeeducation
A post shared by Ashley (@forgetfulmomma) on Oct 6, 2017 at 9:44am PDT

What are your kids actually going to learn

BookShark science includes basic introductory studies fields such as meteorology, biology, electricity, soil science, astronomy, physiology, and hydrology. All the things that my kids are actually interested in, and they are presented in a way that keeps their attention.

Children will uncover mysteries of the human body and health as they enjoy the First Encyclopedia of the Human Body. They’ll marvel as they travel from Earth to the ends of the known universe in the engaging, picture-filled book, Space.

They’ll also learn about animals, space, and water processing, and enjoy a biography of Louis Pasteur.

Science Experiments.

There are 30 major experiments center around water, magnets, light and mirrors. They have included what you need, with the exception of things like water of course. The DVD has them to watch either before or after you do your, as well as a great science activity book to make sure you know what your doing.

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Recommended Resources for this Curriculum

Our First Grade Math Choice – RightStart Math 2017

by Ashley Mullen

How do you feel about math? Or better yet, how does your first grader feel about math? So far, first grade math (RightStart) has been going okay here. While math may not be our favorite subject to work on, but at least it’s been fun, and making a subject fun definitely makes it more interesting and helps your kids to learn it more quickly.

Our First Grade Math Choice – RightStart Math 2017

*This post contains affiliate links, see my disclosure policy for more information.*

What makes RightStart Math special?

My favorite, and I’m going to guess my kids favorite thing would be that they are making math fun! The lessons book includes everything you need to for fun, learning with your kids, including what worksheet to out of the workbook, when to use the Yellow is the sun disc, when to play (which) game.

If you remember I shared all that you get in the RS2 Math Set that we got with our curriculum choices? it included everything we need to learn, and to learn hands on. To have fun with games in each lesson.

Math Level B is about continuing to build a strong foundation with number sense. If you haven’t used their program for math in the past, you can start it at any time, this is our first year using it, and my oldest is using Level D this year (review coming at a later date).

Level B

RightStart Math does this through quantity recognition and mental math strategies by grouping in 5s and 10s.
Math
Subtraction ( to 18)
Place value to the thousands
Geometry
Measurement
Time
Money
Basic fractions

The RightStart Math Level B bundle Second Edition comes with Lessons, Worksheets, Appendix, and Yellow is the Sun.

Educational and Fun Screen Time with Reading Eggs

by Ashley Mullen

We are getting back into the swing of back to school and all the things we use more so then. Reading Eggs isn’t one of them though despite how much my kids have learned from it. And it’s because they are learning so much that I love letting them have screen time.

Educational and Fun Screen Time with Reading Eggs

*This post a sponsored posted, I am 100% honest, and we truly love Reading Eggs and have for a number of years.*

We have been using Reading Eggs for a few years now, and I love it for my kids. It has taken some of the pressure off me when it comes to teaching my kids to read. Not that I am not teaching them still, but they are having fun online reading along and learning with Reading Eggs.

Reading Egg Levels

I currently have three using the program because there are four different levels:

First Steps – 3-4 years.
Ready for School – 5 years.
Fun Practice Makes Perfect – 6-7 years.
Continue the Reading Journey – 7-13 years.

The program has been developed by a highly experienced team of teachers, educational writers, animators and web developers. It focuses on a core reading curriculum of skills and strategies essential for sustained reading success.

Your child won’t be pushed through a level until he or she ready. I have seen my child a little frustrated that they are still on the same level for a while, but once they do master that skill/level, wow, they are so happy!

I love seeing them take the skills to read from a fun engaging place and games to a book. My 3 year old is already starting to sound out words and completely blow his Momma away with all that he is learning, and he just sees it has having fun on the computer like his big sisters.

Reading Eggs hits on another important point for me: it’s safe. There is nothing for your kids to click on and end up somewhere else online.

You can try Reading Eggs for a FREE 4 week trial where you’ll have access to the thousands of interactive activities and over 2500 e-books that make up Reading Eggs.

We have had issues in the past with the game freezing up and not letting one child move past a section, but either a quick refresh of the page fixes it, or one time, their support quickly helped to fix the issue. And it was on our end, needing an update, but they were great to deal with.

How to Use YouTube in Your Homeschool

by Ashley Mullen

I am one of those parents that limits screen time – computer screen time in particular. But as my kids get older I can see them “needing” to use it more, and am starting to utilize it more myself for them. Particularly YouTube in our homeschool. There are actually channels for homeschoolers and let’s not forget about all the science experiments that we can do in our home but we can watch learn from on YouTube.

Using YouTube in Our Homeschool

There are so many different ways to use it in your homeschool, or as a aid to public school homework. YouTube is an incredibly valuable resource. For instance, science channels and channels to get your kids moving on rainy or winter days.

It can be hard to find exactly what you are looking for sometimes without falling into a rabbit hole of videos, but once you do, all the searching is worth it. But why do we want to use YouTube in our homeschool in the first place? Because it is a great FREE resource to almost any topic that your children are interested in.

[bctt tweet=”YouTube is a great #free resource for your #homeschool. Both for you and your learner.” username=”forgetfulmomma”]

My kids love to watch videos, my oldest in particular loves documentaries. Watching videos on YouTube on topics that interests them bring a new way to learn. Some kids respond better to watching, listening and learning through videos.

How You Can Use It

The first way to use it is to let your kids find what interest them on their own. There are blocks you can place on it to prevent them from finding inappropriate videos. For instance I was interested in learning to crochet but had no one to teach me. I used YouTube to learn and still use it for learn new patterns and stitches.

When you are planning your curriculum you can look for interesting, videos to go along with the theme or topic of the day/week.

We have been using it as a fun way to learn some french since my french is so rusty I’m not much help.

Does your child wonder what it would be like to dive and explore the coral reef? Does someone want to learn how to draw or to knit? There are videos for all your children’s questions. YouTube is a great addition to your homeschool curriculum choices.

educational

Learning To Spell with BookShark Language Arts

Learning To Spell with BookShark Language Arts – Level 2