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eTap.org

12/11/2012

 
I have been testing out E-tap.org for the past month.

I have to admit, I like it.   I am doing their free trial period, and it was rather neat.  When i signed up for it I had really bad timing (over hubby's surgery) and they sent me an email asking what I thought about it and I said well..really haven't had time to look it over.   They graciously extended my free trial.  Wasn't that nice of them???    Certainly wasn't what I expected.

If you want to hear what other people think of them, go to their testimonials page.   

So what do I like about them?
Well..it's user friendly.  I've been able to utilize their materials in my eclectic style of homeschooling (not every site can do that).   They even have a video helping you to learn how to use their site.   Now the video page is a bit quirky...I had to refresh it, which opened up a new window for my video player.  BUT it worked, taught me more about the site.  :) 

From their website:  (edited for brevity)
eTAP gives you K-12 Math, English, Science, and History, as well as SAT/GED/ASVAB test preparation, all on a single easy-to-use website!  Your membership to eTAP includes access for the entire family and also includes access to all the grade levels and lesson subjects for one affordable membership fee.

A one-stop resource – eTAP provides comprehensive instruction for the core subjects of Math, English, History, and Science plus High School test preparation.

Easy to use – eTAP is entirely web-based, so there’s no software to install or learn.  Navigation is user-friendly and intuitive.

Engaging/Increase Achievement – Lessons combine text along with coordinated video resources to better accommodate audio/visual learners and maximize learning for students with different learning styles. Content is presented in an easy-to-read, functional format. Vocabulary is age-appropriate. Research shows that most student's first choice of activity is the internet.

Portable – Students have access over the internet: at home, at the library, or even when traveling. Printable versions allow you to make hard copies when you don’t have internet access.

Family Subscriptions –  Each subject includes grades K-12, so a single subscription is good for the entire family.

I mostly made use of their social studies area... focusing on geography, the teaching of maps, history and what not.  It fit in well with our study on Canada.  The lad now knows what a compass rose is and the importance of various features you find in a map. :)   I love how they divide the learning into various age ranges with suggestions for grade/age use in each sub-category.   Goes from kindergarten to highschool.    I did use the math area as well.   The introduction to geometric terms and so forth.  

They lay out the instruction well.  They start with the goal, move on to instruction, and follow that with practice exercises.   Everything builds from one step to the next without odd jumps.

Cost for the program - and my one regret.

I have to admit, I do hesitate in purchasing the program -- as good as it is.  It's $399/yr.   I like the program, and it's all inclusive...(except for the videos).  Just the cost would be a hard sell for me.  You can learn about purchasing it here.
Now...it is a well-done program so if you can afford it, go for it.  :)

In the hands of a child

12/10/2012

 
is having a Christmas give-away.

Go here to learn more. :)


In the Hands of a Child is starting to feel the Christmas Spirit and we want to help you feel it too, so… …are you ready to win big?

How we do some of our learning

12/10/2012

 
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The lad and I do a great deal of reading.

We mostly read in the morning and at night.

In the morning we read history and various think about type of stories.  Fairy tales and tales of imagination.   World history.  Predominately short snippets.  These are supplemented with lapbooks and small unit studies as I find them.

In the evening we read books about our main topics of studies (this year the human body and Canada).   We read one primer.   One chapter book (currently going through the Bad Kitty books.   One book which we read together.  A bible story book.  And a book on a topic of the lad's choosing (for now that's a book on spiders).

I find it fascinating, as I often let the lad play while we read, how often he incorporates what we read about into his play.    I can also tell when he's totally uninterested in a book or story.  No questions, no comments, barely even an acknowledgement, but when something interests him he'll interrupt and ask questions, and he'll often tie things together from what we've learned or read about in the past.

Continuing with Canada

12/10/2012

 
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With the lad not feeling well I'm not so sure we'll get much done in the way of homeschooling this week.

But everyone has gone to bed early leaving me with hmm...how then shall I amuse myself?  :)

So...  Let's plan some Canada studies.

Our Continents and Oceans study from The Simple Homeschool has us learning about the great lakes and generalities about the continents.

This got me looking on Youtube for some videos to watch.  Videos are easy to watch when you aren't feeling up to par.

First up is a video song of the great lakes.
Then I plan to go on to this video on Continents and Oceans.
and then on to a narrative of the oceans
all of this should provide some interest for one boy child.  and shouldn't be too onerous for him on a "sick day" from school.

Spelling and Letter Size

12/9/2012

 
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You'll note on this magnetic board that I have used capital letters in the wrong place and deliberately misspelled a word.
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So I gave the lad a challenge.   Can you fix it?  He very confidently said "sure mom"!
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There mom!   All done!
hmmm... are you absolutely certain?
Ah.... no..... was the hesitant response.
Well...check again, did you miss anything?

YES!

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As you can see, he got it figured. :)

Things we have worked on lately

12/9/2012

 

First Giveaway - Rabbits

12/9/2012

 
I have written a lesson on how to care for your rabbits.  I have often taught children how to care for rabbits as groups or individuals and thought this would be a nice giveaway for folks.

To see the rabbits that I raise go to AT Home Pets.

I would like to offer this lesson as a giveaway.  :)  I love teaching people how to care for their rabbits, so this made a natural lesson to do. :)

I should mention that this lesson comes as a PDF.   If I have your email address I will send it out to you.
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Why offer this now?

Although Easter is a big time to sell bunnies, I sell a lot of bunnies at between Thanksgiving and Easter.   Generally more than at Easter (which is what my preference is).  I don't want to sell bunnies that are going to be short lived presents.  I want to sell bunnies that go to well-educated forever homes.   So offering lessons in how to care for your bunnies is part of how I help people to learn about this marvelous animal. :)

Enter the Draw

Okay to enter this draw.
Each action gains you an entry.  Separate comment for each entry please.

1. join my site (see the linky in the sidebar).  Make sure I have your email address. 
2. tweet the giveaway (tell me about it)  Provide me with the URL please.
3. go to my rabbitry site and tell me which bunny is your favourite. :)  OR something new that you learned there.  (blog comment)

thanks!

OH.. my son will do a draw of names on Saturday the December 15.  :)

Silly Sentences

12/8/2012

 
I saw this idea this morning over at Teaching Stars.   The concept is easy... write words that children more or less know on cardstock or something for durability (or on regular paper for less).   COLOUR CODE them to just aid in the learning of grammar and to make it easier for them to make real sentences.

I can see my boy having a HOOT with this.  It would tickle his funny bone it would.

The Post is called Silly Sentences Sight-Word Flashcards.   It takes ideas from Montessori.    I did of course Pin both ideas up on Pinterest.  :)

Schoolhouse Teachers Review

12/7/2012

 
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SchoolhouseTeachers.com  is an absolutely wonderful site.  I LOVE IT!   I've been going to this site ever since it began and it just keeps getting better and better over time.  The creator of this site is The Homeschool Magazine.
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Membership Benefits

They have little bits of everything, and lots of bits of even more. :)   Not sure how else to describe it (in fact just see below).   You could generally complete all your schooling just by going to this one site.   They have areas just for teachers, areas devoted to age ranges from Pre-elementary, through to Highschool.    Those areas cover language arts, history, geography, math, literature and just so much more of everything.  It's rather quite neat!  :)

Then they have the dailies which are small activities that folks can choose to do every single day.  Spelling, art, exploring (they have CANADA in there!!!), Shakespeare, History, Art and more.   Everything I have found so far is in PDF format which makes it REALLY easy to download and use.  

Then of course is the wee benefit of being able to access all the Schoolhouse magazines.   It's like having my own personal library right at my fingertips.  :)
The following is taken directly from the website, with a little bit of editing for brevity:
1. Members-only access to lesson materials in these subject areas: Chemistry, Computer Science, Economics, Geography, History, Home Economics, Literature, Math, Music, Reading, Writing . . . and so much more!

2. The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine delivered straight to your inbox, monthly.

3. All The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine digital back issues.

4. The Homeschool Minute™ weekly E-Newsletter.

5.  Download all five Schoolhouse Planners—the Parent version, all Student planners(3) and the Special Needs planner.

6. Monthly bonus e-books for each month of membership.

7. All available TOS Expo-To-Go recorded sessions.

One of the things I most appreciate about Schoolhouse Teachers is that they keep making it better.   One of the things they have just added is called Everyday Games.   I just found a game called Cat Word Hunt.  The only way I could make this more MY boy specific would be to call it Spider Word Hunt.  Simple easy words for a boy child learning to read to find.   An easy way to increase his confidence in word recognition.   This, to me, is a very good thing.  :)
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How Have I Used This Site?

Having belonged to this site since it began, I have to admit it has changed ALOT since it started.  When it began it was mostly articles, some helpful bits, lots of promise to be more, the magazines, and a few things more.  Over time...it has added sections for the different age groups, curriculum, lapbooking, science, history, language arts, geography, home ec, music lessons, Spanish, games, and so on. 

But let me take a moment to tell you how I have used SchoolhouseTeachers.com.      I have NOT used it as straight curriculum source, and doubt that I will ever do that.  I am more eclectic.  I like pulling things together on my own to form a whole.   So what I have done with Schoolhouse Teachers is I have pulled off resources for later use. 

One of the big topics we have for study this year is the Study of Canada.  When I discovered earlier this year that they were in process of Exploring Canada I went WOOHOO!!!!  Make it easy!   We aren't quite at the whole looking at Canada thing yet ... we've been looking at the earth, world, ecosystems and what not first.   But when we start the provinces and such like I'll be going back to those resources to help flesh out our studies a bit.   Since it's all downloadable.. I can download, save it to file and voila!  It's mine!  :)  I like it I do indeed.

Now I HAVE used the dailies, and generally as is.   I find they add some variety to what I do with my son.  :)   They are ready made, tend to be short and easy to print off/use.

I've done what I always do with sites that I like, I browse it and then find things that I like and then I revamp them for my own use. :)  I have done a lot of reading here and then have taken that knowledge and inspiration and use that with teaching my son.

Lapbooking

I was reading through some of the other reviews that people on the crew have done and many pointed out the lapbooking components.  So I went back to give them another go over.  You know what?  They pretty good.   We are currently going through the December One called "Christmas in the barn".   My son laughed and wonders what the boy in the story is going to do with the tree.  :)

Cost to join

You can become a member as well
Become a SchoolhouseTeachers.com Member just $5.95 per month or purchase a 1-year membership for $64.26.
Personal comment.  This is so WAY affordable.  I'd do it..HOLD ON... I already DID IT before I signed up to do this review.   I've been on other sites that cost more, been on one that cost less.   THIS site is SO much better!  Seriously!   Good site, totally recommend it.

And right now they have sweetened the pot.  For the first month it costs $1 to join.  So for basically no risk you can join the site and join many many other people in seeing just how good it really is.

Go here to sign up for Schoolhouse Teachers.com today. :)

My Regret

I LOVE, seriously LOVE doing things on-line.  My only issue with paid sites in general is remembering to go to the same site on a regular basis or finding the time to do so daily.   This site is good enough to go to daily, it really is.

Legal Disclaimer

I received a free copy of this product through the Schoolhouse Review Crew in exchange for my honest review.   I was not required to write a positive review now was I compensated in any other way.  All opinions expressed are my own or that of my family.  I am disclosing this in accordance with the FTC Regulations.

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You can read reviews by other members of the homeschool crew by going here.

Doing Things Differently

12/6/2012

 
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My tendency in schooling is to have a basic plan for my day, but to more or less wing it as I go through it.   That for the most part has worked well for me.

BUT I've been dealing with health issues for the past while and have found that I am often tired and out of sorts.   This does not work well when trying to get things accomplished.

Over time I was starting to feel fairly much like a struggling homeschooling failure so I thought I'd switch things up a bit.

To that end I decided to make daily folders.  The goal is to finish them daily, but to not stress about it if we didn't.  Not like we can't carry things forward.   I have a different colour for each day.

It's working well.

I do feel guilty because I'm ripping pages out of books which means I can't sell them and recoup some dollars after we're through with them, but bottom line is what overall is most important?  My sanity or dollars?

On a positive note the lad seems to like it.  :)   He likes knowing that he's made it through his work sheets.   He likes to be able to talk and play and do more science experiments and just have things more set.

I do need to reorganize our school room (yet again) to make it more functional long term for us, but for now this switch is helping.  The lad is learning and life is good.

My son's one complaint is that one of the folders is light green and he would really rather it be black.
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    Science4Us.com

    Egglo Entertainment.
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    Philippians in 28 weeks.
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    Classical Composers
    Seeking Christmas.
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    The Ruby Ring.
    Knowing God By name.
    The Jesus Bible, NIV. 
    One Realm Beyond.
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