This blog is my attempt to document our busy but BLESSED lives raising and educating our children for His glory. A child of God, wife to one, and mom to 6 fabulous kids. We are in our 17th year of homeschooling using a Classical ~ Literature based approach.

Come along for the good, the bad & the ugly.



Thursday, March 2, 2017

365 Homeschool ~ {61/365}


I love the secret drawer under my drivers seat. It's the perfect size for storing books for on the go learning. {61/365} #astablebeginning #365homeschool  #brownhomeschool365 #hiphomeschoolmoms #ihomeschool #classicaleducation #livingbooks #homeeducation #tapestryofgrace 

©2008- 2017 A Stable Beginning. All rights reserved. All photographs, text, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written permission of the author.  

Pennsylvania ~ Here We Come! ~ a TOS review

If there is one thing to say about our family its that we love books! Good, quality books that teach us knew things. I was especially pleased when we were offered the book Pennsylvania ~ Here We Come! from the By the Way Book Series.


The By the Way Books are written by Joy Budensiek and are filled with 48 full-color pages of beautifully illustrated work by Stephanie Robledo. The artwork included truly draws the reader into the story.The Pennsylvania book is the 3rd book in the series. The book is told from a Biblical world view and is chock full of facts and information about the state. The book is an 8 X10 inch hardback book and perfectly geared towards children 5-12 years old.


During the story you follow along with Alex and Lexi as they accompany “Penny”, the state mascot, to several Pennsylvania celebrations in July. Throughout their journeys, Alex and Lexi explore many of God’s amazing creatures like crickets, bears, white-tailed deer, groundhogs, chipmunks, trout, and more! Traveling by plane, they are able to visit places such as:

 ~ Gettysburg 
 ~ Pittsburgh 
~ Lake Erie 
~ Bethlehem 
~ Philadelphia 
~ and Lancaster

The trivia information found within these pages are super! Did you know that the founder of Hershey Kisses, Milton Hershey and his wife had a ticket on the ill-fated Titanic? They canceled their trip because Mrs. Hershey had gotten very sick. The world was close to possibly not having chocolate! But God knew, his plans are always better than our own. 



Did you know the state dog is the Great Dane? We also find out about the conservation efforts Pennsylvania has made to save the Bald Eagle. Thirty years ago there were only 3 nests in the entire state of Pennsylvania, now there are more than 250 nests!


So, why did I choose the Pennsylvania book? My husband will be retiring from his military career in 8 short years and Pennsylvania is at the top of our list for our retirement home. We have only driven through Pennsylvania for gymnastics meets and college visits but later this spring we will have the opportunity to visit the state a little more in depth. We plan to travel one of America’s oldest highways, the Historic “Natioanal Road” along Route 40. 




We are all excited to explore Pennsylvania and this book has given us a first glance of the many exciting sites we will see. And you know what? There are more books to explore within this By the Way Book Series. We can't wait to add more titles to our collection. Be sure to check out the books on: 


Florida's Treasure Coast ~ Here We Come! 
Smoky Mountains ~ Here We Come! 
Washington ~ Here We Come! 
Colorado ~ By the Way 

 Click the banner below to read the reviews of 64 of my Crewmates as they explored the states above.


Nature Books With A Biblical Worldview {By the Way Book Series Reviews}



 Format ~ hardback book 
 Price ~ $14.99 
 Ages ~ suggested ages 5-12 years old
Nature Books With A Biblical Worldview {By the Way Book Series Reviews}

Social Media Links: 

#hsreviews #travelbooks #statehistory

Crew Disclaimer
 


©2008- 2017 A Stable Beginning. All rights reserved. All photographs, text, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written permission of the author.  
 http://astablebeginning.com

Wednesday, March 1, 2017

Math Mammoth: The Blue Series ~ a TOS review



For the last few weeks Montana and McKenzie have been supplementing our math lessons with Math Mammoth and their Blue Series. Math is a subject that we have a main curriculum for that we love! However, it is always fun to supplement and that is exactly what we did when the opportunity to review the Blue Series Introduction to Fractions , Measuring 1, and Measuring 2 from Math Mammoth was offered.


Math Mammoth was created by Maria Miller, a homeschooling mom with a degree in mathematics. Her company offers multiple products that help parents teach math to their kids. The Blue Series worktexts are individual  units intended for graders 1-7 and focus on specific topics. It is not meant to be a full curriculum, rather, a helpful supplemental or remedial for extra help in:

 addition
subtraction
 place value money (several different currencies are offered)
 measuring
 clock
 multiplication
 division
 fractions
 ratios
 decimals
 geometry
 data and graphs
 Pre-algebra
 Equations
 statistics and probability and more!

Affordable Quality Math {Math Mammoth }
The Blue Series is not based off a specific grade level, rather, they approach math as a mastery approach. These make a good supplement to any math program and can also be used for review. I choose the Blue Series  with the following worktexts:

Teaches all measuring units in both customary and metric systems and some conversions. Filled with lots of hands-on exercises with measuring cups, scales, and so on. $4.85 for grades 1-3.


Teaches all units in both customary and metric systems and conversions between them, including the usage of decimals and fractions with measuring units. $6.80 for grades 4-5.



Includes the first half of the fraction arithmetic: equivalent fractions, fraction addition and subtraction, comparing fractions -- all explained with the help of visual models. $3.50 for grade 5.



I used the the Fractions 1 and Measuring 2 worktexts with Montana {10, 4th grade} and Measuring 1 with McKenzie {7, 1st grade} as a supplement to our main math program. The Fractions 1 book served us well as our math program is already diving into simple fractions. We both loved the hands-on aspect while making fractions. Both girls were able to work through the texts for 15-20 minutes, 3 days a week. I loved the in-depth look that the girls got on individual topics that they needed just a little extra help with.


These worktexts are just the right amount of material without being too overwhelming. I also love that the worktext files come as a PDF download. With children of multiple ages and stages this is a wonderful option for me to just print off what pages I need when I need it and bind the notebook myself.

With so many topics to choose from in the Blue series including you are sure to find a worktext for your child. We will definitely be looking to the Blue Series more as we master topics within our homeschool math program. Check out the samples online to find the perfect starting spot for your child. Each Blue Series work text retails between $2.20 to $7.40.

Check out what my 49 other Crewmates thought of the Blue Series and the Light Blue Series by clicking the banner below.

Affordable Quality Math {Math Mammoth Reviews}
Company ~ Math Mammoth 
 Product ~ Introductions to Fractions , Measuring 1, and Measuring 2 
 Format ~ PDF Download 
 Price ~ Between $2.20 - $7.40 per worktext 
 Ages ~ topics for grades 1-7

Affordable Quality Math {Math Mammoth }

Social Media Links

 #hsreviews #mammothmath #homeschoolmath 

Crew Disclaimer
 ©2008- 2017 A Stable Beginning. All rights reserved. All photographs, text, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written permission of the author. 
 http://astablebeginning.com

Tuesday, February 28, 2017

365 Homeschool ~ 59/365



Alphabet time with big sister. Micah is learning the letters and sounds for his name. #astablebeginning #homeschoolmornings #preschoolprep #ourhomeschool #homeeducator #ihomeschool #homeeducation #learningthroughplay #365homeschool  #phonics brownhomeschool365 #earlylearning #hiphomeschoolmoms #boymom💙 #preschoolathome 


©2008 - 2017 A Stable Beginning. All rights reserved. All photographs, text, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written permission of the author. 

Monday, February 27, 2017

365 Homeschool ~ 58/365


Montana is working hard to finish her #diorama before Wednesday's due date. {58/365} #astablebeginning #365homeschool #brownhomeschool365  #hiphomeschoolmoms #bookreport


©2008 - 2017 A Stable Beginning. All rights reserved. All photographs, text, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written permission of the author. 

Wednesday, February 22, 2017

Wordless Wednesday

 

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©2008 - 2017 A Stable Beginning. All rights reserved. All photographs, text, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written permission of the author.

http://astablebeginning.com