Mommy Octopus

We can all use a few more hands

Review: Easy Grammar 11 from Timberdoodle!

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I received a 50% off discount on this item from Timberdoodle in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

One program that we have used for many years in our homeschool is Easy Grammar.  This year, we are using the Easy Grammar Ultimate Series Grade 11 with our oldest.  Currently, she’s on day 37 out of 180 days.  My daughter likes the program because it only takes a few minutes and is fairly painless to complete.  If we get behind, it’s super easy for her to catch back up.

I like Easy Grammar because it constantly refreshes what students need to know about grammar.  If there is something that a particular student didn’t learn at a younger age, it’s not difficult to learn or relearn using this program.  Each section has instructions and usually has the grammar rule in place as a refresher.  The text is designed to introduce and to review in each section as well as support learning in other sections.  This enhances mastery learning since they are frequently having to use what they have learned.

Each lesson takes about 5-10 minutes for my daughter to complete, which is perfect for our homeschool setting.

Above you can see a sample of a lesson that my daughter has completed along with the coordinating answers from the Teacher’s Guide.

Inside the Easy Grammar Ultimate Series Teacher’s Guide, there are reproducible texts for student use.  This makes it great for being able to start fresh if my student needs a new sheet or to use for large families.

Some items on the Scope & Sequence for Easy Grammar 11 are abbreviations, abstract concepts, geographical places, greetings, titles of books, when to not capitalize, hyphenated words and more.

Like I mentioned earlier, we have used this program for years and definitely recommend it to other homeschooling families.  You can find Easy Grammar Ultimate Series Grade 11 on the Timberdoodle website along with many more popular items for homeschooling families.

Meal Plan Monday

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This weekend was a much needed chill weekend.  It’s been so crazy the past year that we really just needed some downtime.

We did get some great news on Wednesday, though!  My husband’s latest cancer scan was clean!  Radiation did it’s thing and the lymph nodes are back to normal.  With that being said, they did find some degenerative issues with his back as a result of the cancer. Not sure what the next step (if any) is for that.

Anyways, here’s what we plan to make this week!

Monday: Spaghetti

Tuesday:  Southwestern Chicken in the Crockpot

Wednesday: Pizza

Thursday: Broccoli and Cheese Soup

Friday: Eggs, sausage

Saturday: Kielbasa, veggies

Sunday: Dinner out

Review: The Power in Your Hands from Timberdoodle!

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I received a 50% off discount on this item from Timberdoodle in exchange for my honest review.  All opinions are my own.

As I have mentioned before, we’ve brought our homeschool back home this year and are using less options outside of the home.  I was a little nervous about making sure my high schooler has everything she needs to succeed, but Timberdoodle has made it so much easier.  They offer homeschool curriculum kits that are well rounded and include many of our favorite homeschool items.

Since we have been trying out the Jump In! book by Sharon Watson with our middle schooler for a bit and liked that program, we wanted to give the high school version, The Power in Your Hands a try.

The Power in Your Hands features 23 chapters with thorough instructions for writing in high school.  High schoolers will learn about the structure on an essay, how to write persuasive essays, newspaper writing, literary analysis, descriptive essays, and personal testimonies.  More than just reaching how to write, it also requires the students to think!  They have to come up with answers for their essay and be able to fully defend those answers.

Currently, my daughter is on Chapter 5, which is focusing on persuasive essays.  She has found this program to be very easy to follow along.  It walks her right through creating essays.  By the end of the program, she will have completed 23 essay writing assignments!  I have enjoyed seeing what she comes up with for each assignment.

One aspect of The Power in Your Hands that we really like are the 14-minute Power Surges.  These are writing prompts that encourage students to write without the pressure of being evaluated or graded every day.  It includes all modes of writing such as exposition, persuasion, description, narration, and even poetry.  Students write every Monday-Thursday for 14 minutes.  They keep their work and then on Friday choose the paper they like best, proofread it, and then hand it in for a grade.  It’s a great way to keep the students thinking without having too much pressure.

These Power Surges are only found in the The Power in Your Hands teacher’s guide.  As homeschooling parents, many times we skip getting the teacher’s guides, but in this case, I find it very helpful.  There are tips to show teachers how to properly grade the essays and samples of A, B, C, D, and F papers so I can compare it to my daughter’s work and assign an appropriate grade.

The only thing that I don’t like about The Power in Your Hands actually has nothing to do with the program, but the book itself.  I would have loved it to be spiraled instead of a bound book so it would sit flat on a desk easier.  It is a very thick book, being 417 pages.  I may end up taking it somewhere to have it spiraled.

I have been very pleased with The Power in Your Hands and other programs by Sharon Watson.  I plan to continue using them with my students each year.  Depending on how you use it, The Power in Your Hands can be spread out to 2-3 years!  I love curriculum that lasts a while!

For more information on this product and the Timberdoodle 11th Grade homeschool curriculum kit, please visit Timberdoodle’s website.

Giveaway: Disney’s The Lion King

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Another live-action Disney film is ready for releasing!  The Lion King will be available Digital 10/11 and Physical 10/22!  This is another one that we cannot wait to see!  I remember being in 5th grade and I had the soundtrack on cassette tape!  We played it so many times and my teacher would even let us listen to it during busy work time.

About the Movie:

In-home audiences will feel the love as they trek behind the scenes and to the African savanna through “The Journey to ‘The Lion King,’” a three-part documentary that explores the film’s creation. It features visits to the Playa Vista production facility where talent, including Donald Glover (voice of Simba) honor and elevate the animated classic’s iconic music; discussions with Favreau and team who used cutting-edge technology to create photorealistic animals and environments; and filmmaker and cast reflections on the timeless tale that has moved generations. Extras also include “More to Be Scene,” layer-by-layer progressions of some of the film’s most iconic moments; lyric video for “Never Too Late” by Elton John and music video for “Spirit” by Beyoncé; sing-alongs to the film’s unforgettable songs; and a feature on the “Protect the Pride” campaign, which focuses on protecting and revitalizing the lion population.

The Giveaway:

2 lucky readers will each win a digital download code so they can enjoy The Lion King from the comfort of their own home.  Simply fill out the Rafflecopter below for your chance to win!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Great Deal on 50 Hair Scrunchies!

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Hair scrunchies are back and popular.  I’ve seen articles this week where in middle school, girls are collecting scrunchies and giving one of theirs to the boy(s) that they like.  Sounds fun!  If you’re missing some of your hair scrunchies, it’s possible this is where they are going.  Never fear, though, we have a deal on hair scrunchies!

Right now, Amazon has a good deal on a huge lot of 50 velvet scrunchies.  This is more than enough for your daughter and her friends to share.  Wonderful price, too!

Progeny Press: Hound of the Baskervilles Study Guide Review

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As I mentioned earlier this year, we brought our homeschool back home, relying more on things in the house rather than tutors and co-op programs this year.  One thing I wanted to focus on more with my highschooler was literature.  When this review came forward, we were happy to check out their study guides for literature.  We went with the Hound of the Baskervilles Study Guide  Grades 9-12 from Progeny Press.Most of the below review is written from the perspective of  my 16 year old.

About the book:

This is a mystery story about detectives Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson.  The mystery in this book is that a legend from a long time ago in the Baskerville family could come back to haunt the Baskervilles now.  A death and some other small mysterious happenings are going on around town.  The moor is now seen as a dangerous place because of the giant ghostly hound seen and heard there.  Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson have the case of their lives with a tale full of mysteries, suspense, logical thinking, legends, death, and much more!  This book is probably not for kids under age 12 depending on their fear tolerance levels.  Older kids will enjoy this book though.

About the Study Guide:

The study guide for The Hound of Baskervilles was interesting to complete.  I don’t usually like to do study guides for books because I enjoy just reading through a book.  This study guide is interactive and actually was very helpful.   I usually either look up words that I don’t know or skip them and understand the book just fine.  In this study guide it seems like an extra step when you are told to look up words but it helps the book seem more interesting and understandable.  Students have to read the book and not just skim through to find out what each word means.
In the study guide, there are  vocabulary sections, questions about the book, and deep thinking questions that relate to the book, the Bible, and life.  My favorite section is probably the book questions.  That is because once I read to complete the vocabulary, I can understand and remember the answers to the questions without searching through the whole book.  The questions are fun and help me remember important events and what is happening in the story.

Our Thoughts:

I would recommend this study guide to anyone in high school that wants to read this book.  The word definitions and the deep thinking are probably the hardest part but if you work well it should not be too hard.  It might be a little challenging to lower than high school levels for school just because it is geared toward high school but I think a smart middle school student could handle this study guide just fine.  I enjoyed reading through the book with this study guide.
Adding from Mom: My daughter said that it was hard to type on the PDF online, so she just kept a notebook of notes and answers that we would go over together.  I’m not sure if it was a computer issue or operator error 🙂  As a mom, I was pleased with the quality of the questions and how it made my daughter think.  I will definitely consider other literature study guides from Progeny Press.

For More Information:

For more information, please visit the Progeny Press website. You can also find out more on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.  The Homeschool Review Crew also reviewed these other literature guides from Progeny Press:

You can read those reviews and others by clicking the banner below.

 

Study Guides for Literature {Progeny Press Reviews}
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Monster Truckz Coming to Athens!

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This is super exciting!  My 4 year old son is a huge fan of monster trucks!  The Monster Truckz program is coming to Athens, at the Athens Fairgrounds from October 25-27.  This show features:

  • Extreme Monster Trucks: Monster Truckz’ namesake vehicles dwarf the helpless cars they crush during this thrilling show that also includes rock-crawling behemoths and a human cannonball.
  • Globe of Doom: The Monster Truckz motorcycle team defies gravity (and death) as they speed around their spherical cage.
  • Nitro Motocross: Upping the thrill factor, each Monster Truckz show features some of the world’s top motocross riders attempting mind-blowing jumps and stunts.

Head on over to check out Monster Truckz on Groupon and you can grab 2 adult and 2 kid tickets for only $39 for a limited time!  There are 4 shows to choose from for this deal!

Meal Plan Monday

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We had a great weekend.  Our church went up to Ridge Haven in North Carolina for a family retreat.  It was such a wonderful time and we are so glad we went.  I’m also so glad we have a little bit cooler weather now.  While summer was being so hot, we spent a lot of time at the pool or running around with friends, which caused the kids to eat pretty much everything in the house.  Hopefully the cooler temps help to get the grocery budget back down with soups!

Monday: Get Methylating Soup, cheese toast

Tuesday: Fettuccini alfredo with chicken and broccoli

Wednesday: Chicken and veggies

Thursday: Dill Pickle Soup

Friday: Burgers, broccoli

Saturday: Grilled cheese, fruit

Sunday: Black bean soup

What are you making this week?

Multifunctional Diaper Bag Backpack – Only $16, down from $39.99!

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Anyone looking for a great deal on a Multifunctional Diaper Bag Backpack?  Although this one is pretty stylish and could be used as other carrying bags as well.  Right now it’s listed on Amazon for $39.99, however if you use code XSAO9QNX, the price drops to just $16!!! This code is for a limited time and while supplies last!

There are great reviews on this backpack, too!

 

 

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