It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year...The HEAV Convention...Tips for Having the Best Time Ever!

I know, you hear "It's the most wonderful time of the year..." and strains of the Christmas song sung by Andy Williams float through your mind. I do love Christmas, really, I do. It's the celebration of our Savior's birth and a time to be thankful for family and friends, and to be together and acknowledge all of the Lord's blessings. Alas, it is also a LOT of work when you are a mom, and sometimes it can feel a bit hectic and rushed. Ask me my favorite holiday, and I will still say Christmas, and then Easter, but ask me my favorite time of the year, and I will without hesitation say, "Homeschool Convention time!!"

In our state, our convention is in June. That's right at the end of the "school year" (though we often continue on through the summer with special projects and studies) and it's a great way to get a worn out mom and teacher re-energized to take on another year of home education. It's also always right around my birthday, so for me, it's kind of like the most awesome birthday party ever. 

I look forward to heading to our state's convention every year. I've been to conferences run by "the professionals" when I taught in the public school system, and I can without reservation tell you that our state home educator's convention puts anything they ever came up with to shame. I've lived in several other states and also attended other local conferences, but still, the HEAV convention ranks at the top of my "best things to do if you are a home educator" list. I have only missed a few of the conventions since I started attending them thirteen years ago, right after we made the decision to pull Bubba out of public school after third grade, and those were missed only because we lived twenty or so hours away and I was too pregnant to drive myself and the kids to attend. I bought the convention cds/tapes instead and have spent many wonderful hours listening to them. 

Actually, that is one of my top suggestions to folks who attend a big convention like ours: understand that you will NOT be able to attend every session that sounds good to you, so plan to buy the cds/mp3s. Getting everywhere you want to be just won't happen, no matter how organized you are. You will get "lost" in the vendor hall or at the used curriculum sale, or your kids will get wrapped up in the chess tournament, or you will find someone fascinating to talk to and then BAM! you will realize you just missed hearing Tammy Duby talk about GASP! Are You Leaving Gaps? in your home education, and you just KNOW you needed to hear that one. Or you will show up to hear Ken Ham talk about the importance of Genesis and the room will already be full. 

Here's my advice: Don't Panic. You can still get all that great information just by ordering the mp3 set while you are at the convention. It is usually a bit pricey, but it's cheaper to order while there than later AND it will remove the pressure from you to be everywhere you can't possibly be all at the same time. You will relax and enjoy yourself much more if you go ahead and order the set before you even attend the first keynote address. Really. I have learned so much over the years from listening to many years of archived talks. I never mind road tripping because it's not just travel...it's an educational opportunity. Even my kids have enjoyed many of the talks and we've had some excellent discussions because of speakers we've liked a lot, or ones we have not quite agreed with.

In any case, I thought that since my giveaway for one complimentary family pass for the Home Educators of Virginia Convention on June 6-8 is just around the corner (it runs from April 29 to May 3rd), I would re-post some tips (with a few new revisions) for attending a convention or curriculum fair. You really do need to make some preparations ahead of time in order to make the most of your time and truly enjoy yourself, especially if it is your first time going to a meeting as big as this one is.

Here are my top tips for making

 the most of your time at a

homeschool convention 

or curriculum fair:

1. Sign up early. Generally conventions offer "Early Bird" specials to members and those who will sign up before a certain date receive a substantial savings. If it is your state homeschooling organization's convention, you will receive a discount for being a member, and I've found that even though the membership fee to join may make your total price a bit higher, it's a good idea to support your state organization because they likely do quite a lot to support how you get to home educate. From helping sponsor bills to allow your kids to access sports activities in the public schools to defending your right to choose your own curriculum, they are a vital part of the freedom to choose home education. Plus, while you can generally sign up at the door and pay a higher fee, you will usually have to wait in a much longer line than those who pre-register, and you won't receive a specially printed-up name tag, either. ;-)

2. If you receive your local convention's emails or publication, then you've probably had an opportunity to check out the speakers and topics already. Mark the ones you are very interested in, maybe using a different color for different family members if more than one person is attending. It helps to plan who you will go see ahead of time, or you might find yourself in a long line to gather your convention tags and schedule with only a few minutes to decide where to head next. But then again, remember, if you purchase the mp3 set, you don't have to worry if you choose a talk that is less than what you hoped for. You can listen to something better later.

3. Make plans ahead of time for what to do with your children. If your husband is not attending, they can stay with him, but really, dad's need to go to conventions, too. Our HEAV Convention has quite a few sessions specially eared towards the men of the family, and since registration cost covers the family (one price for spouses and kids, and grandparents, too!), it's a great way for everyone to learn something and reap some of the rewards that come from homeschooling by seeing the many success stories and realizing that there are so many nice people out there who are walking a similar path. The children's programs at our convention cost extra per day and fill up fast, so early registration is advisable. 

Our convention has several teen programs which also carry an extra cost, but may be just the thing to light a fire for a summer filled with delight-directed learning. Nursing babies, and sometimes even young children, can accompany their mothers if you don't have child care planned, but please remember to plan ahead by taking a bag of quiet playthings and snacks to distract your children. 

Also, please, be courteous and leave a session if your child starts to fuss or even to make happy noises. Usually, sessions are being taped for those mp3 sets and too much noise can ruin them, not to mention the fact that even nice baby coos make it difficult for folks to focus on the speaker. Everyone in the session paid good money to be there, just like you, and they deserve to be able to get the most out of it possible. Sometimes, if you must step out to calm a baby, the session moderator will give you a coupon to get a copy of that session on disk. It never hurts to ask, just as it is better to err on the side of caution with keeping children in a session than to ruin it for everyone else. 

4. Plan where you will park and eat ahead of time. Our convention is in Richmond, VA and there is plentiful parking, but the closer you are to the convention center, the more costly the parking is. Some years there have been benefits to forking out $15 to park for one day, but others, we've driven farther and walked to only pay $5. Of course, Dad can always drop the family at the door, and do the walking alone...but whatever you do, you need to remember that if you keep a cooler of food in the car for lunch or want to drive somewhere to eat, you need to have that car close by, and tired kids at the end of the day will have a difficult time making a long trek back to a far away lot. It also helps to be closer if you plan to do a lot of shopping and will need to unload your bags from time to time. Also, ask around ahead of time if you plan to dine out. Lunchtime is usually the same time for everyone, so you could stand in very long lines if you don't plan ahead, especially if you get lost because you don't know where you are going.

5. Make sure your cell phones are charged and ready to go. Have a plan for where to meet up at certain times, just in case someone in your group can't be reached. You don't want to get stressed out by not being able to find someone from whom you got separated in the crush of onlookers at the Robotics demonstration. Make sure your phones are on vibrate so their ringing does not accidentally disrupt a taped session, please. If you are taking younger children with you, be sure they know to stay with their assigned "buddy" at all times. It might help to have them wear coordinating colors to make it easier to pick out your kids in a crowd, if you have a lot of them. It might sound a bit stereotypical, but it's really just practical.

5. If you are traveling a long distance to be there, you may want to find lodging nearby and stay overnight, at least on Friday night, if it is a two-night weekend conference. We've chosen to drive the hour and a half back and forth each day to save the cost of lodging most years, but the year Bubba was graduating and I had very new baby Boo with us, we secured reservations at the hotel nearest to the convention center and it was quite nice to be able to go rest or change or drop things off in a room just across the street. If you do want to stay in a hotel, the earlier the better. Usually, groups reserve blocks of rooms at a special rate, so don't forget to check if you can get a lower price that way. You can often add a military discount or AAA to that, too. It never hurts to ask. 

6. This one is important, but you may need to wait to implement it for next year, but we've found that budgeting for convention spending ahead of time is a huge relief and makes the whole experience much, much better. It is so much nicer to spend money on what you need (or just want) when you are not causing a shortfall somewhere else. 

Talk it out with your husband and decide a reasonable amount to invest per child and determine how much you will need to set aside monthly to meet your goals. Find creative places to pull the money from, such as the grocery budget, by using coupons and putting the money you saved in the "Curriculum Account" instead. Sell old stuff you didn't like or use and put that money away, too. Clean a neighbor's guesthouse or watch someone's pet and save your pay. Sell used items on Craig's List or your local Facebook Trash or Treasure (online yardsale) forum. Let the kids start their own fund using money they earn doing jobs you want done around the house or by working for trusted friends and family. They'll have more fun shopping in your wake if they can keep their eyes peeled for a bargain, too.

7. Get informed. Do your primary initial curriculum research ahead of time. Do NOT wait until the day of the convention to get ideas on how you want to teach math to your third grader. Ask friends what they use, inquire at co-op or support group meetings, or post a query on a forum online, then take all the suggestions and start looking them up. Many sites offer trial versions, trial periods, or at least sample pages for you to look at. Request catalogs, compare prices, and see how much of any of the supplemental materials you need for any given program are available at your library (the more you can borrow for free, the better). 

You may wish to visit your local homeschool second-hand store (if you have one) or check out Craig's List or e-bay (or any other online vendor) before deciding to pay full-price at a convention. Swap meets, library sales, yard sales, thrift stores, and sometimes even public school discard boxes are good sources of cheaper (or possibly free) materials that may meet the needs you have. See my post on How to Homeschool for FREE (or at least, more inexpensively) before you go to your convention. However, vendors often do offer convention deals and/or free shipping if you buy while visiting the Vendor Hall, so take advantage of those offers, especially on large purchases.

8. Make a list and stick to it. After you have compiled a list of "wants" that you haven't found yet, whittle it down to your actual "needs." Don't discard the "want" list. Just keep in mind that every bank account has a limit and even the strongest-willed person in the world can be sorely tempted to go overboard in a super-packed Vendor Hall. It all looks so GOOD! Go to the fair armed with your two lists, shop for the "needs" first, then with what is left of your budget, HAVE FUN! 

You might consider splitting the leftovers between the kids and let each child make a delight-directed selection, such as some Adventures in Odyssey tapes, some chess teaching software, or a special sketch pad and pencils. You never know what new talents or joys you might discover.

9. I HIGHLY recommend taking a rolling suitcase or rolling basket to carry your purchases so you don't break your back (or the back of your teenager) toting all your finds around. Empty out your big scrapbook rolling bag and give it a new function. I've seen many folks load up the stroller and carry the baby! LOL. Last year our convention had a booth that for a low fee would box up your stuff and hold it for you to pick up later. I thought that was pretty nifty. Whatever you do to handle your new acquisitions, please make sure your conveyance is not too difficult to maneuver or too bulky to find a place to "park it" during a lecture, otherwise it will make your day less pleasant.

10. Also, remember to take a bottle of water...shopping is thirsty work...and maybe a snack or two (convention prices for refreshments do not tend to be cheap...they were charging three bucks for a soda at ours and two bucks for a small bag of chips). Energy or granola bars are good ideas, or snack mix, but avoid snacks that are messy or have noisy wrappers as there are enough distractions and messes to deal with already.

11. Wear comfortable clothing and good walking shoes or your little doggies will be worn out by the end of day one, let alone day two. My mom recommends taking a sweater, even if it is sweltering outside, because they often turn down the air conditioning very low to compensate for the volume of people in the room and it can get quite chilly. 

And this isn't a requirement, so much as a request, but while I do not subscribe to the stereotype that homeschool moms should be wearing skirts all the time, remember that there are folks with varying levels of conservativism attending the convention, so if your rules are a bit on the looser side, give the folks who might be on the more conservative side a bit of a break and dress in your nicer, comfortable, yet modest clothes. 

Over the years as more folks have entered the homeschooling trend, I've seen the dress code take a nosedive (especially for girls), and it's especially difficult for moms of teenaged boys when young ladies, or even moms, are wearing strapless tops and too short skirts. Be yourself, but be yourself with modesty, please. Thank you. 

12. Take a notebook. You may meet folks and want to exchange addresses. You may want to take notes at a very riveting lecture...having a composition book or legal pad to write on always comes in handy, and it's very annoying when you want one and don't have one. Speaking of meeting people, if you have family or business cards, you might want to take a stack to hand out to the many fascinating folks you will meet. It's so much quicker than writing the same information down again and again. I find that Vistaprint is a good source for inexpensive printed items.

13. Someone suggested this one and I just loved it: Take pre-printed labels with your name, address, phone number, and your email on them to use when you walk by booths you are interested in and they want you to fill out their sheet for a freebie (Vision Forum usually has great freebies at their booth). It will save you a lot of work and time.

14. Lastly, PLEASE remember to give your kids a break once in a while by stopping at the booth with the cool science gadgetry, the Lego table, the Robotics demo, or the chess tournament. Some booths are great for a few laughs, a few sparks, and maybe even an explosion or two...or at least a few minutes playing with a wooden pop gun or sword. Your kids will be grateful for the break, and you might just find something that tickles their fancy and lights an interest on fire if you relax and browse for a while. 

15. Whatever you do, just remember to HAVE FUN. The convention is meant to be a time of rejuvenation for you, to get you remembering why you have chosen to undertake this sometimes daunting, but always rewarding task. Listen to the kids playing their violins in the lobby for a few minutes, examine the artwork lined up along the walls, talk to the winning robotics team and give one of the bots a whirl...and be inspired. 

Well, if you get a chance, let me know how you made out at YOUR local convention this year. I'd really love to know what cool stuff you found. I might want to get one, too. 

If you live nearby, don't forget to come back here during the week of April 29th-May 3rd to enter to win a family pass to the HEAV Convention in Richmond, VA. It will be worth your while and may wind up being one of your favorite times of the year. I hope to see you there!

Growing Up Wild About Missions

Encouraging Children to Impact the World for God's Glory

"Go and make disciples of every nation, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Go and teach them to observe all I have commanded, and I will be with you until the end of the age."

Matthew 28:19-20  The Great Commission

One of our top ten goals as homeschooling parents is to instill in our children a heart for missions. Each year at Christmas we work with Operation Christmas Child as a family, filling up boxes for little ones in far off places who may not receive anything else all year. Tex will spend a few days at his grandparents' house with friends (his grandparents run the program in their large church) so they can help pack the big boxes of little boxes and load the large trucks. Daddy will take the Three Amigos on Sunday to Nanny and Poppy's church to help collect the last of the donations. Other years we've also contributed to Angel Tree, adopted individual families, or worked with other services, like the military, to fill community needs.

During the rest of the year we show missions support by providing funds for individuals on a monthly and/or one time basis and sent out family members as needed during times of disaster, like after hurricanes. We make donations of items and do our best to find opportunities to include the kids in missions projects. Bubba was blessed to take a five week missions trip during his high school years, and I have hopes that Tex will make at least one similar trip during the next few years. We encourage our children to choose Spanish as their foreign language as it seems to provide the most opportunities to use it on the missions field.

Beyond that, however, there isn't much more I can say. I see families like the Duggars (on TV) making yearly trips to foreign places to work with orphans and can't imagine being able to do that. My husband's job is so demanding, it will be years before retirement allows him the opportunity to take the older kids out of country to serve others. I hear of other families whose children decide to be missionaries and wonder what influences made the idea even a possibility...I know when I was growing up, not much entered my thoughts beyond horses or being a vet...and it took years after college before I realized I might have been a great librarian or social worker, jobs I never considered because I just didn't experience them (beyond checking out books, that is), let alone the missions field.

Some families have the privilege of knowing some missionaries personally. We've moved around so much because of our military lifestyle that we haven't developed the community ties that make it possible for us to be familiar enough with local folks like that we could invite into our home to have dinner with us and to talk with the kids. Honestly, while I don't personally imagine any of my children in a dangerous third world country taking chances every day with their lives for the call of Christ (nor do I imagine any of them joining the armed services and getting shot at, if you know what I mean), I do know that is a possibility. I would not want to be the one to stand in the way of their answering God's calling on their lives, and I do not want to be an impediment to their finding out what it is. But honestly, if it is foreign missions, how am I going to give them any idea of what missions is if my only experiences with it are limited to those on the home front?

Well, now that I've discovered Growing Up Wild, I think I've found a way to at least expose them to the idea and the reality of what some missionaries go through, in a way that is fun, interesting, and likely to encourage them to want to explore the potential of the calling on their own. Growing Up Wild is a collection of DVDs that takes you into the jungles of Indonesia and shows you the day to day exploits of the four Wild brothers. Beyond that, it lays out the basics of foreign missions, in the context of this one family's experiences, in a way that is understandable and honestly, lights a fire in their hearts to know more.

The first DVD is an excellent introduction to the brothers and their daily lives. The heart of the family is the home (after God and Mom, of course), and the initial segment shows the details of the design and construction of their round house in the jungles of Papua, New Guinea with the Wano people. The approximately fifteen minute segment (their are three segments per video), also takes you on a tour of the home, which is fascinating, and shows you how their house is similar to that of the Wano people, but also different, in the same way that it will prove to be surprisingly similar to yours, but also different.

I was amazed that they not only have running water and electricity (real toilets and a glass enclosed shower, even), but they have computers, a school room, and the coolest Lego Loft (my kids LOVED that). I told Ladybug, "Wow. I love it. I could live in that house. It's so simple, yet complete." She replied, "No you couldn't, Mom. They have tarantulas living in the rafters." True. That's a deal breaker for me for sure. The Wild boys shoot them with rubber bands and spear them when the population gets too big or they get too close. Otherwise, they are accepted since they do a good job keeping the insect population down. Ugh. Shiver.

At the end of each segment, which on this tape were all narrated by the mother (Dad narrates a few in DVD #4), ideas for integrating the information you were given during the piece are offered. This particular story opened with how their dad picked the home site because of a beautiful HUGE tree nearby he knew his wife would love to see every day, and it suggests that you find a tree near your house that is inspiring and draw it. The story also includes mention of one of the tribal men who loves to spin a yarn, so they suggest that you find a relative or neighbor who likes to tell stories and listen to and/or write down a few of them.

A third suggestion for this segment is that you look up how houses are made in your area and other areas and read them, and I can think of at least five books in our library, plus another video or two that cover that topic...unit study! Another fine suggestion is to draw a Venn diagram of how the Wilds' house is similar to and different from yours and from the Wano houses (the Wano people are communal and many generations share their homes with each other and with their animals...they also have no furniture!). The last one of the five suggestions available at the end of every segment is the one my kids want to do on the available day (since we watched the video again to refresh our memories of it) is to construct a model of a Wano style house using twigs and other materials. Now I realize why after our initial watching of the video they found a corner of the horse pasture with a few small trees where they started to construct kid-sized stick huts...this video! They've played in those regularly for a month. What about that is there to not like? Each DVD even comes with an additional CD which contains an activity guide that gives more guidance for each of the suggested activities. Excellent! Here is a sample of the activity guide for the first disk.

God and His influence and presence through everything is mentioned throughout every story (in some more than others) but His importance and guidance is clear. Scripture is used throughout the two videos we viewed and I found the quality of the writing to be excellent. I was impressed to learn that Mom and Dad did all of the work! Impressive and inspiring. They are definitely a talented family. The filming is spectacular. The scenery can't be beat. The colors are vivid and the beauty will take your breath away. Even the introductory music has a catchy beat.

The other two segments in the first DVD covered the way the family obtains electricity (solar panels) and water (gathered from an uphill clear water source using gravity...simple and simply ingenious at the same time) and how they go "out of country" to obtain supplies and to connect with other missionaries in their area. The house segment will inspire your budding architects and your homemakers (I really think I could be quite happy there, if not for the spiders...even the pythons did not bother me that much), power segment will inspire your budding engineers, and the one about getting supplies will encourage your wanna-be pilots.

I know this may sound simple of me, but while I have tried to be open to each of my kids being called to any career from architect to army doctor, teacher to technician, homemaker to horseman, I never considered any of those jobs in light of using them on the mission field. It's obvious to me how a doctor can help on the missions field, and a translator, but I never would have considered my tech savvy guy working with radios to keep in touch with missionaries all over a foreign country, or my budding park ranger to perhaps range away far from his home. But if that is what God has in mind, it could happen...and these videos may be one key that will unlock the possibility in their minds.

The other DVD we viewed, the fourth one, is just as good. While during our initial viewing I didn't appreciate the first segment about the creatures the Wilds' encounter every day since I saw it first and on its own (I didn't feel it was "deep" enough since I was comparing its "mission" to stuff like Ken Ham and other creation science materials...but its intent is to glorify God and simply introduce the variety the children encounter daily within the scope of what you already know about them), seeing it after all I've learned about the family from that first DVD makes me really appreciative of the content...and the kids loved seeing the bugs, the snakes, and how similar their cats are to ours. Their cat likes to play with and eat bugs and mice. We have one that just the other day stalked a spider cricket (creepy bugs...I found one leg left the next day), and another that loves toads and moles. Living in the country, our most hated vermin is mice (which surprisingly was their most disliked vermin, not the spiders), and I've been stalking those that are trying to come in and make a home for the winter somewhere warm all week with Molly's help. It was interesting to see the similarities, alongside the differences.

My favorite thing about the videos, though, was how clearly they laid out their calling to the missions field, and showed that there are many ways to serve. I appreciated hearing their story, and their uncle's story (he works in a village within a few hours of theirs by plane), and how they began their journey of outreach to the people of Indonesia. It was fascinating to hear how they had to move in not knowing the language at all, and that it took them three years to master it. Now they run a school for all the people and also the church for the 69 (I think) converts in the village. Their aunt translates the Bible and other texts to help native peoples learn, and the Wilds' had to develop a written language. Daunting. Impressive. Made possible only by God.

I believe these videos would be valuable to a variety of folks. They would be useful for a Sunday School class (running a family or youth Sunday School class? This would be a fun conversation starter!), or for Wednesday church, or a home Bible study. I'd love to have friends over to view a segment and do a day long (or multiple day) unit study with these. Church libraries should have these videos for people to check out. I will be purchasing the other three to keep in my Lifetime of Learning Library. They are also just plain fun to watch. As we watched them together again yesterday, my kids told me over and over again, "Oh Mom, watch this. It is my favorite part." And my formerly squeamish Ladybug, who groaned and covered her eyes the first time we watched the videos and the pet green python was on the screen (which is actually yellow because it is young) said this last time as we watched them together, "The snakes used to bother me, but now it's no big deal." Way to go, girl!

One funny comment was, "Mom, two of the boys have hair like Cowboy and Boo's, but two of them have curly long hair like a girl." Cultural difference there. *smile* We don't see too many long-haired guys around here. Too many military folks. Another comment was, "It's hot there, Mom. That's why those boys don't ever wear their shirts. Don't let it bother you." (We have a rule around here to always wear shirts unless mowing the back 14 in hot weather...not wearing shirts is not allowed in the front yard for boys, and for girls, obviously, ever!). "They try not to show too much of the natives (notice the wording was 'too much of,' not 'too many of'...they show plenty of native people), Mom, but they don't wear many clothes." The Wano people are scantily clad, but the way it is filmed, and, I think partially because they are so dark-skinned, you just don't focus on or really notice that fact too much.

No bad language. Creepy snakes and bugs. God-affirming messages and scriptures...Mr. Wild shares the Gospel story and there is footage of one of the Wano people giving his testimony in one of the segments. Scantily clad people. Gorgeous scenery. Body piercings...demonstrated on camera...eeyeuw. Mrs. Wild let her two oldest boys get their noses piereced (a native custom) with a STICK. She talked about how she wrestled with it, then decided how God's word allows for different customs as long as there is nothing unsacred behind the reasons for the custom. The boys teared up, but were brave (no anesthesia...ack!). At the end of the segment, one of the suggested activities was to find a stick, sharpen it, and pierce your nose...NOT! No, actually, they jokingly suggested it, then said, "No, just kidding...do NOT try this at home!" The kids howled over that one.

Good morals. Happy family. Personally challenging. Informative. Interesting. Funny at times. Humbling at others. You will be challenged to pray and to figure out what God wants you and your family to personally do to share the Gospel with other people...does He want you to pray, to give, or to go? He calls us all to do something...are you doing enough? After seeing these videos, you may not think you are doing enough, so if you don't want to be challenged, you might want to skip them. Otherwise, I give them a hearty two thumbs up. I think that watching these will help your kids and mine grow up wild about foreign missions...and that's an eternally good thing. 

If you would like to learn more about the Growing Up Wild DVDs, you can check out their website.

See some sample videos of Growing Up Wild and learn about the people who made it.

See a sample of the activity guides that come with each DVD on a separate cd. What an excellent resource to tap into!

Meet their family on their blog and check out their Jungle Journal...recipes, games, etc.!

Volume One is available for $18.99 and covers building and touring their house, how they buy supplies and the necessary aerial support, and obtaining electricity and water. (I definitely recommend purchasing the first video first, though, even if the topics on other DVDs intrigue you more. It is definitely worth it to get the background of the family's set up first.)

Volume Two is available for $18.99 and covers adventures indoors on a rainy day (with memories of a tropical surfing excursion), exciting outdoor adventures on a hiking and camping trip, plus flora and fauna outside their home.

Volume Three is available for $18.99 and covers the blessings of the good earth and how a seed can feed a village, the history of the jungle and the terrain surrounding the Wilds' home, and how illness in the jungle and compassion for the sick can have eternal consequences.

Volume Four is available for $18.99 and covers God's amazing creation in Indonesia, tribal/cultural differences and customs, and the calling to the missions field. This is the one with the native testimony. Very touching and convicting.

Volume Five  is available for $18.99 and covers discovering the language, the feast, and misconception of missions. The page linked to shows the correct image, but has write ups of the wrong segments. Sounds good, though!

Here's a freebie that goes right along with these lovely videos. Teaching With God's Heart for the World is a free two volume curriculum that teaches world geography with an emphasis on missions. I have a printed copy of this excellent curriculum and it is wonderful, even if you only delve into it deeply enough to find Indonesia and do that chapter to go with the Growing Up Wild DVDs you purchase...

If you'd like to read what others on the Schoolhouse Review Crew have to say about this product, please visit the Schoolhouse Review Crew blog.

Blessings,

Disclaimer: I received two videos from the Growing Up Wild collections (#1 and #4) for the purposes of completing this review. All opinions stated here are my own or those of my family. No other compensation was received.

It's in the Bag

"Where fun and education fit in the same bag."

I first discovered Activity Bags when Preschool Activities in a Bag was released. At the time I had two little ones, ages 4 and 2 and another on the way, plus two older children. My oldest was a pretty high maintenance student, and my middle child needed one on one time to fine tune his reading and math skills. I was looking for ideas on how to occupy my younger children while I worked with the other ones. It wasn't like we didn't have toys for the little ones to play with, but it seemed that whenever we were working on school assignments, the little ones wanted to "do school," too.

That's when I came across the Preschool Activity Bags book. I was so excited when it arrived because the concept of preparing activities ahead of time that only came out at "school time" (thus making them special and attention keeping) made so much sense. My mom is a reading specialist by trade and had suggested having things like file folder games (which I tried, but the ones I had from here were just too hard for them without supervision at that point...her students were older) and learning centers (which took a lot of time to prepare, took up space, couldn't be left out indefinitely, and were often awkward to store). Her ideas were ecellent ones and I have used them in different circumstances since then, but they just didn't work for me at the time with the ages the little kids were. I needed something else.

Activity Bags was a revolutionary product for me and struck me as simply brilliant because it was so simple. How easy is it to put pre-planned activities into bags with labels and pull out one or two at a time to reinforce needed skills or to simply entertain the kids? Easy-peasy! Actually, the idea was pretty much what my mom had already suggested (file folder games, just a variation of it, and centers...contained in a Ziplock bag), but adapted from the classroom into a form perfect for homeschoolers.

Space-saving, efficient, easy to store, easy to assemble, and fun, Activity Bags delivers just what you are looking for to engage your students with hands-on learning activities. Many of the activities require only items you probably keep in stock around your house, especially if you are a homeschooler. They are simple to assemble on your own, if you just plan on using the book for your own family, or you can arrange an Activity Bag swap party and assign the supplies for one activity to each participant, set up the items in a Round Robin sort of way, and everybody leaves the party with as many different bags as there are people. Now that deserves the Easy Button. Easy!

I've got to tell you that hostessing an Activity Bags party really makes sense because when make-your-own activities require particular items to complete their assembly, you can't generally just buy one of whatever it is you need (like metal spinners or Velcro dots). Multiply each of those supplies by twenty-five activities and it adds up to a lot.

BUT if you are responsible only for the supplies for one or two of the twenty-five activities, then suddenly your boxes of spinners and game pieces don't seem too expensive after all. Someone else brings the Velcro and laminated flowers, another participant brings the dice, poker chips, and photocopied game board, and you walk away with three fun activities for your kids to play...and it only takes about five to ten minutes to assemble each bag (instead of an hour to gather the materials and do each one individually and on your own). What a nifty concept...I love it!

The next great thing about Activity Bags is that they are so easy to store. You have lots of storage options. You can keep them in a filing cabinet, in a crate or laundry basket, use banker's boxes or Rubbermaid containers, clip them to a clothesline stretched across your basement classroom, or place them around your classroom in learning centers. Oh, and they are fantastic for workboxes, too. They fit right into most drawers or upright file holders very easily. Pull a few activity bags out each week to add some variety to your kids' school days and they will thank you for it with more enthusiasm and excitement about learning. You will thank yourself for doing it because suddenly teaching your varying ages (or even your one or two students) is much easier AND you get this sense of having done more than just making sure the kids got their workbook pages completed and nature journals filled out for the week. Nice.

We received the full three-part series of Science Experiments in a Bag and I was as impressed with them as I had been with the Preschool Activities years ago. Those preschoolers are older now (though there are other preschoolers using the original activity bags and they are still holding together!) and they LOVE the idea of doing experiments. As a busy mom, experiments just seem like a lot of work and mess to me, especially with the little ones all wanting to help at the same time. Having to gather the elements of the experiment, print up a notebooking page, get all the kids safety goggled up, then doing the experiment, writing it up, and picking it up...whew! That takes the whole afternoon.

Of course, you might say I am just stressing myself out by writing up the experiments, but I just think that the kids understanding the scientific method and being able to look back in their notebooks at the pictures of what they've done is a valuable exercise. So if I am not going to cut out the write up, how can I make doing science experiments easier and more appealing to me so I will choose to do them more often?

The answer is Activity Bags. I love them. I can take an afternoon on a weekend when Hubby can tote all the kids to the dump, his favorite home improvement store, and to Sonic for ice cream cones, and in just a few hours I can have ten experiments put together in bags and stowed away for Fun Fridays (see links below to my old Fun Friday posts and get in on the fun yourself!). Then when the kids say, "Mom, can we do an experiment today?" I don't have to think whether we have the baking soda or the coloring or the paper tube or the funnel...I know all the parts and instructions for TEN (there are twenty-five per book) experiments are waiting in their bags, along with the notebooking pages I printed ahead of time from my favorite source, and I can just say, "Yes, let's do one right now." Let the fun begin! The smiles make the up front preparation worth it. I highly recommend all of the science e-books. I don't see how you can fail to love them, too. Your kids sure will.

The Science Experiments in a Bag e-books are a welcome addition to any science curriculum. Covering topics from biology to nature to chemistry and the human body, the can be used alongside your own unit study or to supplement your textbook. They are also great if you don't have a curriculum for science, but want your kids exposed to vital, basic concepts in a fun and engaging way (especially in the earlier years, or by using lab notebooks to further cement the concepts in their minds).

Easy enough for older students to complete with minimal supervision and simple enough that even the most science-challenged mom will not be intimidated, Science Experiments in a Bag go together in a jiffy, and get you a lot of "bang" for your homeschool budget dollar at $15 dollars each, $27 for two, or $39 for all three. Since there are 25 experiments in each book, one book can last you a year if you only do one a week. Since we also do nature studies as a vital part of our "eclectic Charlotte Mason" curriculum, once a week is plenty for us, and the kids LOVE IT!!



Science Experiments in a Bag E-Book 1



Science Experiments in a Bag E-Book 2




















Science Experiments in a Bag E-Book 3

Activity Bags doesn't just have these three excellent e-books about science, they have Preschool Activity Bags 1 and 2, Reading Games Activity Bags, Travel Activity Bags, and Math Games Activity Bags, too. A little birdie told me they might be coming out with a Craft Kits in a Bag series of books soon...my kids are going to adore those!

These fine collections of activities are ideal for:

• families with kids of all ages (target ages K-8, unless otherwise specified)
• parents who need to keep kids occupied while they work with other kids
• co-op groups
• homeschool groups
• MOPS groups
• hands-on learners
• independent learners
• beginning homeschoolers
• Charlotte Mason homeschoolers
• Unschoolers and Relaxed homeschoolers
• useful with any curriculum
• science enthusiasts (easy labs for young ones)
• those who are not so enthused by science, but want their kids to be...
• reluctant/beginning readers
• math enrichment
• public or private school teachers of all sorts
• Special Education teachers and Reading Specialists
• Fun Fridays (see my blog posts about Fun Friday at our house Variety is the Spice of Life, Friday Fun School, Twenty Fun Friday Ideas, and Fun and Games Friday.)
• getting Dad involved in the homeschooling experience...perhaps you could have him do an experiment every Saturday.
• aftercare workers or grandparents to do with the kids.
• and much, much more. Anyone and everyone...this means YOU!

Check out this great sampler of the Activity Bags books.
Check out info on how to have an Activity Bags swap.
Check out pictures of Activity Bags made all over the world!
You can order some Activity Bags books TODAY!



You can read other excellent reviews about the Science Experiments in a Bag Activity Bags and other products from Activity Bags at the Schoolhouse Review Crew blog.



Blessings,

Samson's Classroom: Time for Reading Fun

Samson's Classroom is a useful online tool for home educators and parents of students who are enrolled in school, but need some extra practice when they get home. Intended for grades K-5, Samson's Classroom is designed to build up proficiency in three core areas: sight words, spelling, and reading comprehension, all with the goal of helping your student become a better reader. 

Two of my students, Ladybug and Cowboy, are already reading, but benefited from the spelling portion of the program, as well as reviewing the lists of 244 commonly used sight words already programmed into the system. My third student, Firefly, is just learning to read, and really enjoyed the Sight Words with Sampson portion of the program. She spent a lot of time doing the same lists, but I feel she was gaining confidence (and having a good time "doing school" like a "big kid.")

As a parent and a teacher, I liked the fact that there was flexibility in this program. I could choose to either have my child work on pre-programmed lists of sight and vocabulary words, or I could take the time and enter my own lists based on either our current studies or needs I identified in my students. It was very simple to create my own lists (I figured it out without reading any directions, which is my usual way of doing things), but since I liked the lists that already existed, we only did this once, to practice some of the "th" words that were tripping the kids up.

I also liked how the study portion of the program clearly read the words aloud, spelled them, then said them into a sentence. The reader's voice was soothing and easy to understand (it was a male voice). I thought it was great that Firefly could turn on the sight word practice portion and listen to the same word being spelled as many times as she wanted to. She is fairly auditory in her learning and she got a lot from the repetition. Of course, the repetition could be annoying to the other kids, so we got some headphones so that she could listen to her heart's content. All of the kids liked how you can print certificates for your folder once you have completed a level. They liked the tangible reward (along with some stickers, of course).

Here's an example of the reading practice.

The only thing I saw as a negative was that the reading practice seems to start at a fairly high level, and once you start reading a passage, you must finish it and answer all of the questions or else the unanswered ones will be marked wrong. This stressed out my readers, and it took practice and lots of support from me to keep them from getting to uptight to complete the lesson. I would add passages on lower levels (much shorter and simpler ones...I can't imagine a kindergarten student completing even the level one of the first passage unless he'd been reading since age four), and perhaps allow the parent the option of letting passages be marked as incomplete (which can be finished later) if the student stops. The passages are fairly lengthy for beginning readers and might need to be broken down into shorter bits for some students (of course, this becomes less of a problem if they were to add simpler, more basic passages and let the kids work their way up to the tougher ones).

My kids all liked Samson's Classroom and we plan to continue using it throughout the rest of the school year. It gives me something worthwhile to let one student work on while I work personally with another student. Cowboy saw working in Sampson's Classroom as a reward rather than work, so it was motivating for him when it came to getting his book work done. 

Here's what the kids had to say about Samson's Classroom:

Cowboy says: It's great! Samson Classroom's games are really fun. The best ones are "Crunch Time" and "Spelling Scramble." "Crunch Time" is so funny because you have to spell the words and the walrus crunches pieces of your iceberg until it's all gone (if you don't spell fast enough, that is). "Spelling Scramble" is crazy because the spiders try to catch you while you are collecting the right letters. Once it is easy for you, you can go up to a harder level, so it's always a challenge. It's awesome.

Crunch Time...oops, somebody spelled a word wrong!

Ladybug says: I liked how they spelled the words out loud for you when you are learning them. That helped me a lot. Then they let you spell it yourself and I liked doing that the best. By the time I finished studying the whole list, I really felt like I knew all the words. I use the words more when I write. I love to write stories. My favorite game was "Spelling Scramble" because you have to run away from a spider and spell the words as you go.

Spelling Scramble

Firefly says: I liked the sight word practice part (Sight Words with Samson). It would say and spell the word over and over again, as many times as I wanted it to. It read the word in a sentence, too. I had lots of time to write and learn the words. Some of the games were hard for me, but Ladybug and Cowboy helped me. I liked the "Missing Letters" Karate Chop game the best. It was fun!

Sight Word Practice and Games

If you think you might be interested, you can watch an introductory video that will explain the program to you. It is only three minutes long and it's very helpful in understanding how things work. Then you can give their demo a try (no registration required!) for free.

If Samson's Classroom looks like something that would benefit your family, the price is very reasonable. The cost for one student for a year is $30, and to make the subscription a family subscription (up to four students) costs only $50. You don't find many deals like that out there these days!

To read more reviews by other members of the Schoolhouse Review Crew, check out the Schoolhouse Review Crew blog.

Blessings,

Disclaimer: I received a yearly family subscription for the purposes of writing this review. This review contains the honest opinions of myself and my family members, and reflects our own personal experiences with this product. No other compensation was received.

Thinking About Thanksgiving? Get Ready With Dayspring Academy's "The Pilgrim Story" Course

Sometimes these days it seems that everywhere you turn, you find someone (an individual, group, or organization) trying to take God out of our daily lives, our traditions, and even our history.

That's why it is refreshing to discover a valuable resource that seeks to set the record straight and show the clear influence and impact of God on the history of the United States.

Dayspring Academy, an actual Christian school in Massachusetts, has recently launched an online class called "The Pilgrim Story" that comprehensively covers the experiences of the pilgrims from the influences King Henry had on the later events all the way through to how they fared three years after landing. You and your students will be awed and inspired by the fascinating stories as the talented teacher, Mary Stauffer, weaves the tale of their pilgrimage using many primary source documents and artifacts.

Conducted as very well-prepared Power Point style presentations, the 17 lessons (5 units, 5 tests, one virtual field trip) last 30-45 minutes each (depending on the content and your child's preferred speed). Each lesson begins with the narrator (a male voice) explaining which resources to print up for use later and the objectives of the lesson. You and your child progress through the lesson at your own speed, clicking to the next slide only when ready. The narrator prompts you when you need to stop to complete an optional assignment. There is virtually no guess-work with this class and a lot of flexibility.

Each slide has a story to go with it. The slides often show pictures that support the content visually; other times they show the definitions of the vocabulary words or the content that needs to be copied onto your student's worksheet (important words are underlined to assist younger students). The content is broken down into very palatable bites so that it is simple for easier learners to process in small chunks. Older learners can easily progress faster by moving forward at their own speed.

The class is based upon the Principle Approach of learning which puts God at the focus of every story, not just the story of the Pilgrims or the Bible. It also places a huge focus on building character, such as perseverance, self-governance, and hard work. This class is an excellent introduction to the ideals of that approach, and it also does a great job of showing how notebooking (making learning notebooks) fits into this sort (or any sort) of homeschooling. 

You do NOT have to be a notebooker or a follower of the Principle Approach to use this class effectively or to enjoy it. It is versatile and allows the parent and students to choose which printed assignments and additional activities will be completed. There are essay challenges and craft suggestions, as well as the simpler vocabulary and fill-in-the-blank sheets, and mapping exercises. If you complete at least the basics, you will have an excellent resource for your children to refer to for years to come...and to show off to visiting relatives, as well, giving your kids a chance to help set the record straight about some of the information we were taught as fact in the public schools that is very far from the real truth.

The age range for this class is listed as 3rd through 6th. We viewed the videos together as a family, ages 5-15 (and me...Boo just played). All of the children were interested in the information and were engaged by the way it was presented. In my opinion, it is one of the best online classes I have used. I would recommend it to anyone. 

My younger kids did not do any of the activities. The activities are definitely specific to the 3rd grade and up range. Ladybug (age 8) managed the simpler printed activities like the mapping and fill in the blanks. I did not have her do any essays, though we extensively discussed what we all learned. Now that Tex is doing better and has completed his intense English course for the semester, (he's still moving slowly following his abdominal surgery), I plan to assign at least one of the essay topics this month, and one next month, as he goes through the course on his own. The classes give you plenty to think about and I do not doubt that we will all be more appreciative of the symbolism behind the Thanksgiving holiday by the time we are finished with it.

The Pilgrim Story costs $99 and will be available to you within 48 hours of payment. It is self-paced, and you will have six months to complete all of the assignments so your student to receive a grade. We only registered one student for a grade, but all of the kids (and mom) watched the material. Since Tex is the one who will do the most assignments, I will use the grade for him. The others are young enough that I don't really do grades, but we do grade on participation and effort, which has not been a problem for this course. One night we were even up until after nine-thirty watching a class because they were so interested.

The field trip that is the culminating activity was fascinating. It is exactly what a virtual field trip should be. You and your kids get to "visit" Plimoth Plantation in Massachusetts. We did a virtual trip to that state when we were studying the states one at a time (that is on hold for a while), and Plimoth was one of our "stops." You can get more links and printables to add to your Plimoth field trip at my Where in the World? Wednesday post on Massachusetts.

What we loved about this course:

• The format was very well thought out and easy to use.
• The sources from which information was gathered were reliable, and many were primary source documents.
• The images/pictures were perfect for supporting the information given. Each one added to the story.
• The narrator was well-spoken. His voice was soothing, but not dull. He used good inflection and seemed to have a good command of the knowledge he was sharing.
• Some of the slides in each lesson are interactive, and this provided a nice change of pace for the kids.
• The kids liked the interactive timeline. It is one of the few slides in the lessons that does not allow you to progress past it until you have completed every part of it.
• I liked that they provided quizzes. Between the quizzes and the interactive exercises, it was easy to see that the kids were learning from the lessons.
• The optional resources were useful and provided extra learning opportunities. I did appreciate that they were optional. We are, after all, homeschoolers, and we value flexibility.
• The amount of content was comprehensive and extensive, but not overwhelming.
• I liked how I could stop partway through a lesson and then pick up later where I left off using a pull-up menu. That helped us several times when the younger ones had had enough and needed a recess.
• It's the kind of course you could do as a unit study, in addition to other history work, or you could use it to supplement your current history program (and do fewer of the optional activities).
• You could also use it as a stand-alone study by doing all of the activities and adding a few period-appropriate novels or biographies.
• The kids and I now feel like we have the "real" story of Thanksgiving. We all really liked the course and look forward to finishing the last units later this month.

Concerns we had:

• Some folks will find the $99 price to be prohibitive, especially for a one semester course (one lesson a week).I would not have tried it if I'd had to pay for it...and that would have been sad because this course is high-quality and very interesting. I do believe that the information is worth having, and the course is definitely worth doing, but it's a lot of money for just one topic out of a whole semester's worth of history.
• It would have been nice to have multiple levels of the written work. If they had a more "primary" choice, it would have been easier for my younger ones to join in and get the whole experience (only leave one word blank instead of a seven word phrase in the fill-in exercise, for example).
• I had to print up the sheets for each lesson at the beginning of the lesson and this took time in our already crowded day. Yes, I could print them up ahead of time by accessing each lesson at a different time, and yes, I did like that the narrator instructed us which ones to print, but it would have been nice to have an option to print up the whole "pack" of vocabulary sheets, fill in sheets, maps, etc. at one time so I could just print what I wanted from one screen (perhaps let the parent check a box indicating which sheet types they want from the available options), punch the holes, and add them to the notebooks at one time. This would have helped, especially with the younger students. It wasn't as much of a concern with my HS student, but then the course wasn't intended for his grade...I do feel the course was appropriate for Jr. High and HS students, though. I learned something!
• The addition of links to a few simpler activities would make this more "family" friendly (some simple hands-on activities, easy copy work, coloring pages). By this I mean that as homeschoolers, we often want to do things together, with many grades, and offering ideas for all levels (to be adjusted by the parent) would be ideal. Obviously, I could find these sorts of things on my own, but for the price, it would be preferred to have it available...If they do another course, I'd be more likely to purchase it if it covered more levels and had more options for additional activities for many ages.

This is an excellent product. I look forward to Tex working through it on his own during the rest of October and November (the Amigos and I watched the lessons for this review...he only joined us a few times) and I know he will enjoy it, too. I wish Dayspring had other similar courses, and I am hoping that they will decide to add a few more on other American history topics down the road. I'd love to see one about Colonial America...they could go to Williamsburg for their field trip. Or how about the Jamestown settlement as the next class? There are a lot of myths that need dispelling surrounding that story.

If online courses interest you or you are looking for something to make your Thanksgiving more focused on God and less on the turkey, taking this course as a family unit study during November may be just what you've been looking for. Or if you have an older student (I'd say 5th grade and up) who works well independently who wants to do something different for a while for history, I am pretty sure he or she would really enjoy this class and find it not only challenging, but fascinating.

You can check out Dayspring Academy's website, The Pilgrim Story class, and watch a video explaining the course below.

To find what other reviewers had to say about The Pilgrim Story, check out the Schoolhouse Review Crew blog.

Blessings,

Disclaimer: I received a six-month subscription to Pilgrim Story for the purposes for reviewing this product. All opinions you read here are my own. No other compensation was received.