Outdoor Hour Challenge: Mullein

During this week's Outdoor Hour Challenge we focused on Mullein, as it is found in the winter.

 I planned our walk for the day this week that promised the best weather, so we were, again, out without coats. (Yeah!) We started our walk down the familiar path at Lois Greene Park, where I had noted some mullein at a previous time. Today, however, our mullein was playing hard-to-find or hide-and-seek.  After not too long, however, we found our first sample:

We retained a specimin (above) which we were able to 

examine under a hand-held magnifying glass.

However, this sample was presenting without a stalk, so we continued our search. We truly searched a long time, leaving the gravel path, continuing on a grass path, on to a pond, searching out extended fields beyond.

I was starting to think this Canada goose feather would be the highlight of our day. We decided we were done and began to head back. The boys ran ahead to the car while Angel and I meandered back more slowly. I began to find samples for future studies!

 We found some rocks for our upcoming quartz study;

 empty seed pods on a dry winter milkweed plant;

 miscellaneous dry flower specimins that appealed to us, and, oh what a surprise! A gall for our upcoming gall study!

And then, lo and behold, in the distance was spotted a mullein stalk!

 Angel didn't have the write attire and shoes for the task, so I crashed through the brush and sticker bushes and acquired our mullein stalk.

We headed back to the homestead with our cache. The next day we attempted, not successfully, to examine the mullein leaf under the microscope.

The kids learned about the plant and filled out notebooking pages. ::sigh:: Again I have no photograph, and again the nature notebook is not with me, so I'll have to summarize. I had pulled out a wild flower field guide from which we acquired common name (Common mullein), scientific name, and the specifics called for on the page (height, flower color, etc.). We learned that native Americans used to line their moccasins with mullein leaves to help keep their feet warm in winter, and the colonists would put the leaves inside their stockings for the same reason. We learned that the leaf was often used as a wick, and the dry stalk was used at times as a torch. There was much fun information in the field guide, and now that I know how to use it I know we will pull it out often in the future.

We enjoyed learning about mullein this week (and enjoyed being outside during "school" hours). Beanpole requested that we plan time for a longer hike in the future, and I promised that we would try to do that. Thank you for visiting my blog and reading about our nature study!

Pamper Yourself: Beeyoutiful You!

I recently had the opportunity to receive some products to review from a company called Beeyoutiful.

I had never heard of Beeyoutiful, but I seldom look into products for myself, so I jumped at the opportunity. Still not knowing much about the company, I went to their website to investigate.

It seems to be a little hard to locate information about the company on the Beeyoutiful website. However, I'll pass along this from their "Welcome" statement:
"Thank you for choosing Beeyoutiful.com where our goal is to assist you in bridging the nutritional gap between our modern diet, and our bodies nutritional needs. On our site you will find all sorts of helpful information in our articles section, nutritional supplements, natural skin care, and other items that promote a healthy lifestyle." [Hey, folks... that intro needs grammatical assistance...]

I perused the articles for some time, and then suddenly noticed an "About Us" button at the bottom of the page. So, I followed the link. On that page I find more information about their goal, their purpose, but no information about the company's history, which is what I was looking for. Anyway, their "About" page says their mission is to "Do good to all men". On to information about the products they sent me.

First of all, I received a vial of "Tension Tamer: The Ultimate De-Stressor".

Tension Tamer is a bottle of essential oils tiny roll-on stick of essential oils to be used whenever you feel a headache coming on or feel stress. Tension Tamer sells for $11.00.

It has a very nice fragrance. It's aroma is supposed to help one de-stress. I like its cute little bottle, the neat little roll-on ball. The bottle is so small, though, that it is hard to find when it is in my bag. I've been unable to locate it at times when it was in my pocket! It got totally misplaced for almost a week when I let my son use it (story below). So, for me, keeping track of it is an obstacle. If I were going to use this product as a lifestyle, I would need to devise a system so that I could always find it when I need it.

But my biggest issue...  I'm 53 years old. I have 53-year-old eyes. The tiny, tiny print on the bottle giving directions -- I wish I had a magnifying glass to help me read it! (Actually, I do have one. I'm getting it out right now so I can read the label.)

With my glasses I can read: "Reduce pain, relieve tension, and combat headaches".  With the help of magnification I read:  "Roll on temples, wrists, nose or neck and relax as your headache and tension disappear. Great for children, too! Use as often as desired. Avoid contact with eyes and mouth." There was more, with information that the eyes might sting or tear with the vapors. So, as I'm reading this, apply to nose but avoid eyes and mouth? Most things that want you to avoid eyes and mouth just say avoid the whole face just to be safe. 

So, I was out, and I had a headache. I had the Tension Tamer with me, and I had nothing else for my headache, so I tried it. That's when I realized how hard the label was to read. Trying to read the tiny print on the label probably made my headache worse! So, I read how to apply it and opted for my temples, since that seemed the logical place to apply it to combat this particular headache. That's when I realized I could not apply the Tension Tamer there without getting it in/on my hair. I didn't like that, but I went ahead and applied it there because I really did have this headache, and headaches are relatively rare for me. I really did need to be able to intelligently review this product, so I really did need to attempt to use it for relieving a headache or calming myself during stress. (I don't tend to struggle with either situation generally, so I needed to jump on this opportunity.) I also applied to my neck and my wrists.

I gave the product some time, and while it helped me until I got home and could take an ibuprophen, it really did not get rid of the headache. 

Then on another day my son got a headache, so I had the opportunity to let him try it out as well. I figured maybe I had already preconceived a bias that it wouldn't work. My son used it, and for him... it also did not work. We finally gave him an ibuprophen.

So, while I liked it's pleasant fragrance, and while I liked that it is a natural product, if it doesn't work for me I might as well think of it as perfume. Maybe wearing it myself will help people around me feel less stress...

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The second product I received to review was B.A.L.M., which stands for Beeyoutiful All-natural Lip Moisturizer, the peppermint version (also comes in orange). B.A.L.M. sells for $3.00.

This B.A.L.M. contains organic grapeseed oil, organic shea butter, beeswax, and peppermint essential oil. Well, it was January/February, and my lips definitely needed the help, so I started using it. It made my lips tingle gently. The weather has been really dry, and my lips have been chapped.  I found that I needed it repeatedly throughout the day.  It's all natural, and it is allowed to be used as often as needed, but personally I don't care for using a balm repeatedly. I guess I don't care much whether something is natural or not, but would rather something goes on smooth and the lasts all day, or only needs one application 12 hours later or something. Also, while B.A.L.M. seems to coat and protect, it doesn't seem to be helping my lips to heal, which I was hoping for.

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So, sadly, with both products I was just... not impressed.  I definitely came into this review desiring to like the products, and I imagine that there are other products in their product line that I would like, but these two products were not a hit with me. I think particularly the Tension Tamer was not a good product for me, personally, to be trying out. I would have loved to try out, instead, their Hair Shine or their Vapor Rub (see below) that some of my fellow crew mates got to try out.

Both products seem to be priced well for what you get. (I am assuming that, for most people, the Tension Tamer would be a useful, helpful product. It probably helps headaches that are caused by tension, and my headaches tend to be caused by allergies and sinus issues. If I don't deal with the root of the problem, it can be hard to get relief from the headache.) There is a lot of product for the money; I still have plenty of both left, and I will continue to use both and see if I get different results under different circumstances.

Beeyoutiful carries an extensive line of natural health and beauty products. There are essential oils, soaps, vitamin and mineral supplements, lotions, books, baking supplies, teas... even appliances. While I was not impressed with the particular products that were sent to me, I would still consider supporting this business by trying out other products that they carry. What is so nice about so many of the natural products is that since they are natural they can be used with children, and they can (depending upon the product) be used as often as needed. So, for products that do work, that is a nice thing.

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Here are some additional products they carry that you might be interested in:
Ow !- Ease $15.00

 

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~ Winter Breeze Vapor Rub $18.00

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~ Tummy Tuneup $18.00

 
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~ Miracle Skin Salve $15.00 (2oz.) or $25.00 (4oz.)

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~ Milk and Honey Facial Bar $10.00



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Hair Shine $15.00

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~ Berry Well $19.00

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Beeyoutiful.com sells items individually (prices above), or in bulk (with a discount for purchasing in bulk). For more information on their products and their prices, request their free catalog.

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This has been a TOS Homeschool Crew Review.  I received products for free from Beeyoutiful.com in exchange for my honest review.

TOG Crew Review page for this product.Throw me a bone! Leave me a comment! I love comments!

Who Am I? And What Am I Doing Here?

So far, I have not met an Apologia publication that I was not impressed with! And this one is no exception!

This past month I have had the opportunity to review a Bible curriculum published by Apologia entitled Who Am I? And What Am I Doing Here?, by John Hay and David Webb (Volume 2 of their series, "What We Believe: Biblical Worldview of Self-Image").

First of all, the materials are top quality. The main book is a beautifully bound hard-back book (above left). Available, also, is a beautiful spiral-bound Notebooking Journal for the student to compile on their own (above right). [The photos are not to scale. The books are approximately the same size.]  In addition, available, also, is the content of the book on MP3-CD (below, left), as well as a corresponding coloring book (below, right).

I understand the Old Schoolhouse Homeschool Crew had the opportunity to review Volume I of this series last year. Unfortunately, I wasn't on the crew last year, and I didn't have that opportunity. (I always hate to jump into a series anywhere but at Volume 1, but that's just me...) However, Volume 1 is not a prerequisite for doing Volume 2.

Who Am I? What Am I Doing Here?

Bible Curriculum: $39.00 [ Sample Lesson; Table Of Contents]
Audio Book (MP3): $19.00 [Sample]
Notebooking Journal, spiral-bound: $24.00 [ Sample Pages;  Table of Contents]
Coloring Book: $8.00 [ Sample Pages]

This curriculum is geared toward students ages 6-14, but is adaptable to many ages. It can very easily adapt to be used as a family curriculum for family worship time, or it is suitable to have each student set up with their own set of materials so they can use it independently.

The beginning of the book lays out a suggested plan for using the material. It suggests working on each Lesson being spread out over three weeks, working on the material during two sessions each week.  There are eight lessons to be spread out over three weeks each, taking a total of 24 weeks, so this curriculum can be done over approximately 2/3 of the school year (a school year being 36 weeks long).  This method is very compatible with Charlotte Mason methodology. To cover material in small increments, and then have a break before working on the material some more, gives the student time to absorb the content, think about it, "chew the cud" mentally, if you would. I have found, in my own home schooling experience, that this method is more effective than having large quantities of material covered in a very short time, studied, and then tested. My older kids say they have forgotten much of what we studied using that other method.

Now, content-wise, I'm loving Who Am I? And What Am I Doing Here?. And, in addition to loving the content and the format in general, I am also learning myself! I love the feel of the books in my hands. I can really work with the size of type in the book. (Some other reading I've been doing lately has such small print I'm about ready to get out a magnifying glass!) I like the glossy nature of the pictures. I like the balance, the size of the content segments, etc. In some ways, though, I don't like that. I mean, it's very handy in some subjects, the way the day's lesson says, "Start here", and "Stop here". That is an easy format, but not having that format gives more flexibility. Both formats have their place. This one works, but for me to get through the curriculum in a year I can see that I, personally, will need to input on my lesson planner things like: Week 1, Tuesday, do "this"; Thursday, do "this"; Week 2... etc. I know otherwise I will have trouble staying on track. That's why the materials that just list 160 lessons for the year work better for me. But this one is so good, I know I'll take the time to set up my lesson planner, because it will be so worth it. (In other words, I haven't yet had this material long enough to go through the entire curriculum with my son, so it will be in his future.)

Content -- From the very first lesson, I was questioning the correctness of some of the things I was reading.  Now, granted, I am a product of the public school system. In addition, I graduated high school over 35 years ago. (Yes, I really did.) So, believe it or not, some of the things I actually managed to retain from my public education are no longer true. For instance, the first story in the book, in Lesson 1, is about Russia. When I was a student, Russia was the U.S.S.R (United Socialist Soviet Republic). Also known as the Soviet Union, the U.S.S.R. was dissolved in 1991 (16 years after I graduated high school), and I never learned much about it at the time, nor did I teach my older children about it. So, reading this story, things in my brain were screaming, "No! That's not true! That's not correct..." I didn't say anything to my son, but instead, when we were done with school for the day I went to the internet and did some research on Russia to learn that, yes, the book is correct, it is called Russia (I had thought "Russia" had dissolved), and Russia is

This curriculum seems like it would be suitable to all students.  Visual students will like holding the book, reading it, looking at the pictures, diving into the notebooking journal, etc. Auditory students and emerging readers will like having the book's CD to listen to as they follow along in the book. Tactile learners and others will enjoy working on the notebooking journal and the coloring book. (I can't remember... Did I hit all the learning styles?)

The good, the bad, and the ugly:
So, here is where I point out all the particulars about things I liked, didn't like, and specifics about the materials.

• I love the format of this Volume 2 selection. I think the personal Journal is fabulous. I think the textbook is high quality.
• I loved having the book on CD. I found it difficult to get through the introduction, like my eyes were glazing over and scanning and I found it difficult to focus, but when I popped the CD into the player I got right through the material, was able to focus on it, and followed the content. I know it is very helpful for emerging readers to be able to hear an audio book while they follow along in the hard copy. That being said, the voice on the CD was ...different... I couldn't quite figure it out. Is it computer generated? Is it someone with a different accent? Someone for whom English is not their first language? I just couldn't place it, but the pronunciations are slightly different. And at times it caused me to be distracted from the content while my mind wandered trying to answer the above questions in my head...
• I love that the book and the CD give a code for getting more course materials. When you follow the book's directions and go to the given link for the book extras, enter the password given to correspond to the curriculum, it uncovers a weblink full of wonderful extras, chapter by chapter, to use as you work your way through the book. It includes teacher helps, notebooking pages, and links to PDF downloads of a section called "House of Truth", which is the terminology Apologia uses for the materials they have put together to help the student build their own Biblical world view, 36 links illustrating the house of character God desires to build in each one of us, with our foundation on the rock of God's word. Very cool stuff, but not something I would likely print out, but lots of potential for use with your student in an "on screen" format, or projector format using a program like Power Point.
• I didn't like that the beautiful cover is... so...  "girly"-looking. I mean, it's a beautiful cover, a Norman Rockwell even, but it's a girl. I have a 12 year old son. This material is intended for boys OR girls, but the boys don't want their Bible curriculum book set to all have a picture of a girl in a frilly dress looking in the mirror... I mean, my thought was that, if they could manage it, they should have one cover version for boys and one for girls, or a cover that is more generic for either a boy or a girl. The coloring book is even more girly. The illustrations, even on the pages where the subject is strictly a man and/or a boy, are so soft and girly... Not very masculine or anything. I don't know how else to describe them. Fine for a girl. I can't test this one on my son, anyway -- he never liked coloring in the first place, so asking him would not provide a balanced opinion.

So, this is probably the best way for me to help you understand how much I have liked these materials. Apologia, if you are reading, thank you so much for letting me receive your materials for review! I have just loved them.

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This has been a TOS Homeschool Crew Review.  I received these materials for free from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.


TOS Crew Review page for this product.Throw me a bone! Leave me a comment! I love comments!

Outdoor Hour Challenge: Twig Study

Again I am late posting, but better late than never I say!

Our twig study nature walk seemed like an event that fought against me the entire way.

We set out on our walk on  amazing day in February that required no coats! (I truly watch my week's weather reports to decide which day to take our walk because I am a wimp and I want warm weather. What can I say.)

Our first stop was at the playground for a few minutes of swinging. That was when I determined than my "Angel" girl had not brought her clipboard, so I sent her back to get it while we waited.

So Angel got the clipboard, and we proceeded. The kids all had muddy feet now due to the conditions beneath the swings.

I am finding on my camera. I don't remember what happened that day that I would have failed to take photographs, but it is what it is.

We hiked across a residential field taking budding samples from neighborhood trees. We talked about the terminal bud, auxilliary buds, nodes, alternate leaves vs. opposite leaves, and leaf veins. We snipped and brought back samples to put in a jar of water to observe.

We walked a significant distance, found some benches, and I wanted the kids to sit down and sketch. That was when I found that: (1) When Angel went back to get the clipboard, she "didn't know" she needed to get a pencil, too, and (2) Number  3 lost his pencil while we were gallumping around looking at the trees. ::sigh::

So we headed back to the house to do our work that required pencils. The nature study really was successful, but abbreviated. I wanted to be able to spend more time outside for the kids, but not having pencils made this day feel like little more than a glorified walk, but that's just my bad attitude showing. The kids really did get some learning in, and it was beneficial.

We were delighted by the results a few days later!

I'm not sure (after this much time) how much sketching was done, and I haven't photographed the pages that we did work on (the kids worked on, that is...). The notebooks are not with me right now, so I cannot photograph them, so this entry is done. I really enjoyed this method of getting out into nature with a purpose. Thank you, Barb (Harmony Arts Mom) for you Outdoor Hour Challenges and your Twig Study focus!

Outdoor Hour Challenge: Chickadee Study, part 2

We began our chickadee study here. We had to come back to finish it a day or two later. My goal was to research and explain the difference(s) between the black-capped chickadee, which occurs in our geographic area, and the North Carolina chickadee, which I used to think was the one in our area.

The black-capped chickadee is slightly smaller than the North Carolina chickadee, and has a splash of white (or off-white) across the side of each side of the head, which is not present on the NC chickadee. These are minute differences, very difficult to discern on a bird that seldom stays still for more than three seconds... :)  We also enjoyed listening to the differences in the sounds between the two birds, but I think I mentioned that in the last post.

I also used the Chickadee Pastel Tutorial (by Hodgepodge Mom)with the kids and got them drawing. They really enjoyed that. Here are some photos:

With the laptop open on the table, I walked them through the steps of creating the drawing, making my own drawing while they watched, so they could have an example with the steps right in front of them.

 Then, with my example drawing in front of them, they set out to make their own drawings. We used small sheets of art paper so they can attach them to their nature journals later.

Each child's finished product was unique, and they did a great job. I believe this project really helped them to give attention to the features of the black-capped chickadee in a way that will cement the bird's appearance into their long-term memory! I really liked that.

I really enjoyed introducing the pastels for this study, and I now anticipate using them much more in the future. I'm sorry I don't have photographs of the finished products (after legs and grass and sky were added). I don't know what happened. And I can't photograph right now becausewe left my son's notebook at my friend's house where we do our co-op, so this will have to do. (I'm struggling enough just to catch up on blog entries I meant to make that I just want to get this done!)

So I hope you enjoyed this entry! :)

Math Game for Kids! (And adults, too!)

I had the opportunity, this month, to review an intelligent math game called MathRider.  This math facts game boggles my mind! Let me tell you about it.

This game is geared toward students who have already been taught their math facts (it can be used for addition, subtraction, multiplication, and/or division). This math game is then used to cement these math facts to memory, as well as speed up the recall while requiring accuracy.
The game amazes me. It was created by a software architect, the father of two daughters, when he found that his daughters were not adequately retaining their math facts to memory. They understood the concepts that were being taught, but needed more math practice. Flash cards and computer games had been tried, but they so quickly became dry and boring that the girls stopped using them, and the math practice would grind to a halt. In came Dad, with his computer expertise, and created an adventure scenario that interested the kids and kept them wanting to come back for more.

Then Dad (Thomas Brand) added smart software that keeps track of which problems they are having trouble with, how fast it takes them to answer, which ones are being answered incorrectly. He balanced this information with the problems the student gets correctly, and interspersed difficult problems with problems they can get right, so the student does not become discouraged. If a problem is answered incorrectly, the correct answer is given, and then an easier problem is asked, and then the incorrect problem comes again. The program is amazing and relentless. It tracks time to answer each question, number of times child has taken the quest, improvement of student over the course of time, and much more.

There is one story line for each level of difficulty, so four story lines in all. The levels of difficult for each type of math problem are: Easy (numbers 0 through 5); Medium (numbers 0-10); Advanced (numbers 0-12); and Master (being able to do Advanced at a certain speed minimum). When you have worked on a math discipline for a certain period of time, and have earned a certain number of points (which is illustrated by completing a certain distance on a map), you reach the quest's goal and have completed the quest. The quest must be completed to a certain level of accuracy in order to receive credit for having completed it, which proficiency will be rewarded by accomplishing the quest's goal (finding the rare flower to save your mother), and also gives a reward on the main starting page. (For example, one of the rewards for completing a quest might be a glowing jewel or a blooming flower.) When a level of  proficiency has been demonstrated at the Master level, a very special screen reward appears, but I shouldn't give that away. The student must work to earn that reward!

Now you may have noticed that I wrote all of the above in the 1st person. There is a reason. My 6th grader, that I hoped would try out the program, never did. His math skills are very good, and for some reason he HATES math anyway! So I just didn't want to push it. I did have the opportunity to use the program as well with a six year old, the complete other end of the spectrum (still struggling to learn basic easy problems), because I wanted to see how it was received. He liked many aspects to the game, especially the way the horse jumps over the jump when the problem is answered correctly. (The jump dissolves into dust when the problem is not answered correctly!) I made it a point to end the time on MathRider before he got discouraged. Tomorrow I may work with him with some manipulatives before we spend time on the game.

 

Here's the down and dirty: 

• MathRider, by Thomas Brand (of Australia), is a game to help bright children who understand math concepts but are still struggling to memorize the basic math facts.
•  MathRider retails for $49.95 and is currently on sale for $37. You can even try it out  for free for 7 days to see if it is right for you. The price goes up 2/15/12.
• MathRider has a free 7-day trial so you can try it out and see what you think. One purchase can be used for as many people as you want. So, for the trial, you can set up an account in your own name and try it out so that you can really understand how it works, what it does, etc.
• MathRider is helpful for any child who needs to improve their mastery of math facts. It is ideally designed to help 3rd and 4th graders cement their facts to their brains, but is helpful from the very earliest math learners to the remedial math student. That would usually be 6th grade, but even I, as an adult, improved my speed and accuracy using the problem. I used it all the way to mastery in all four types of operation.
• When math becomes fun, children are better able to learn!
•  MathRider is a computer that you load to your computer. I loaded mine from a link online, as you would load your 7-day free trial. I think the purchased edition must be in CD format, based on the pictures I am seeing.
• You add "riders" (players) to the game to start. . The program keeps statistics of each individual rider, and each has its own password.
•  Once you purchase this program, you get all upgrades for free. You can keep the program parked on your computer and use it with each of your children as they work their way through the various stages of learning their math facts.

I really liked the thought that went into the creation of this product. I liked how smart it is, how it knows which equations caused problems (and throws them back again and again), but also alternates with non-problematic equations so the student does not become discouraged. I like the availability of the program creator; I liked the one-to-one customer service.

I did not like the limited number of story lines, but I liked that there is a button to go straight to the quest, bypassing the story once you have heard it. I liked the direction of the story lines, because they seem to be ideas that would appeal to both boys and girls.

I was very impressed by this product, and even more so after a teleconference with its creator, so that I became aware of some features that I had not noticed or been aware of on my own. I like the way it counts time to answer problem, statistics of number right, number wrong, times taking quest, number of quests to reach completion. I found a nice balance between its demand for accuracy and its demand for speed in answering questions.

I will be recommending this program to my friends when the mention that their kids are struggling to memorize their math facts. I hope, eventually, that I can get my son to take a stab at this program, and maybe I can see how well he really does know his math facts!
Disclosure: I received two month's use of MathRider in exchange for my honest opinion and review. I received no other compensation (other than the aforementioned), and this page contains my honest opinions.

This has been a TOS Homeschool Crew Review.


TOG Crew Review page for this product.Throw me a bone! Leave me a comment! I love comments!

Outdoor Hour bumped yet again...

It seems like it was something I ate... Anyway, an intestinal ailment threw me under the bus this week, and our nature walk has been postponed until Monday. Our week focused, instead, on watching the birds feeding on the seed we put out on our deck.

This week we spotted hoards of dark-eyed junkos, song sparrows, cardinals, and ...squirrels. (Yes, I know, they're not birds...) I don't think we saw our nuthatches or our wood peckers this week. I'm going to try to get JBoy to write down what he sees this next week.

[Unfortunately, we live in suburbia. Hubby saw the auto-floodlight kick on one night this week only to see something furry escaping from the lighted area. We have to conclude that we are not only feeding the birds but also winter rats, which we don't want, so we need to find some ways to revise what we are doing so that we are not also attracting the undesireables... ::sigh::]