Oh my goodness you guys, I can’t believe my sweet nephew is already over a month old! Here are a few bookish pics I got to take of him when he was about a week old. Isn’t he just the cutest?
Side note: I really want to steal my sister’s vintage typewriter! 😀
My daughter, Boo, has been gaining confidence in her emerging reading skills with Eclectic Foundations Language Arts Level A.
Eclectic Foundations Language Arts Level A is a hands on language arts program that teaches phonics, handwriting, and more for children just beginning their reading journey through hands on, stress-free lessons!
The curriculum is available in both digital and physical versions. We received a physical copy of a teacher’s guide, student workbook, word cards and laminated Appendixes. We also use the corresponding McGuffey’s Eclectic Primer that’s free for anyone to download.
Eclectic Foundations Language Arts Level A begins by taking one letter at a time and spending four days getting it really committed to memory through a variety of exercises that engage all types of learners. For example, on day one we create the letter using a long rope of play dough or wax sticks. Then we play a game where I read a word aloud and if it starts with the letter we’re working on she points to the smiley face and it doesn’t she points to the sad face, which apparently makes the activity way more fun.
The next day, we make a sand art picture of the letter (okay, I’ve never actually done this, I’m sorry I just can’t take the mess, but she colors the letter in with different art supplies each week, and once she glued on some hearts). She also circles the letter every time it appears in a selection of text, and reads simple words like man, ran, etc. that use the letters she has learned. On future days she writes the letters in sand or with chalk outside or something fun. She also writes the letter in her workbook. She has fun letter activities like a maze and a letter match, and her absolute favorite is letter tic-tac-toe!
On day three, one of her activities is determining whether the letter sound is at the beginning, middle, or end of a word, once again using a set of smiley faces to make it fun. She also recites the alphabet at the beginning of each lesson and reviews the letters we’ve already worked on. We close each lesson by reading a nursery rhyme.
Beginning in lessons 28, Boo gets to use a laminated page with each vowel printed with blank spaces before and after it so she can write in letters to make the words she read two days before.
We’ve not gotten there yet, but in later lessons she will begin reading from the McGuffey’s Primer every day, and cut out and color word cards. I also looked through the teachers guide and later on in lesson 105 I believe, we begin discussing grammar, beginning with when to use upper-case and lower-case letters,and at the same time Boo will begin writing a selection every day. There are 144 lessons in all, and by the end Boo will hopefully be able to have fun trying to make sentences with the word cards she’ll have cut out by then. 🙂
How we use it:Since we work on each letter for four days, we’ve been using this curriculum four days a week. Right now each lesson is fairly short and sweet, though I can tell they will get somewhat lengthier as we progress. Doing four lessons a day, it will take us thirty-six weeks or about nine months to complete the curriculum, making this a full year’s language arts program. I definitely plan to complete it, and assuming it continues to work well for us, I will purchase Eclectic Foundations Language Arts Level B for Boo next year, and get another student workbook for Smiles to go through Level A when she’s ready. 🙂
Eclectic Foundations is a hit! Boo finally actually remembers each of the letters we’ve worked on, and what sound it makes and all that jazz. She still struggles with actually reading, but I’m hoping that will click for her soon as we continue to work on it. She really enjoys her lessons since each day includes fun, hands-on activities.
I enjoy seeing her really flourish in her reading progress. This has been a huge struggle for us and I feel like we’ve tried nearly everything else under the sun. Sometimes it would feel like she was getting a bit of a grip on learning to read using another program, but inevitably the curriculum we were using moved too quickly and she would end up forgetting the things she had worked on.
I also love how simple this old-fashioned curriculum is to use. The teacher’s guide takes me through each day very simply, and it’s not overly involved or lengthy, which is incredibly helpful when I’m also trying to teach a fourth grader and take care of a baby and a preschooler! It also approaches language arts from a Biblical worldview, using Christian text where appropriate, but it’s not weighted so heavily on the Christian aspect that it detracts from the purpose of actually teaching Boo to read. I would totally recommend Eclectic Foundations to a friend! 😀
Be sure to hop over to the Homeschool Review Crew link-up to see what other reviewers have to say about this curriculum as well as other levels of Eclectic Foundations.
Stop today and enjoy something simple that brings you joy! 🙂
The very first math curriculum we used, way back when my now fourth grader was in Kindergarten, was Math Mammoth and we loved it! We’ve used a variety of resources for math since then, but when I had the opportunity to receive the Math Mammoth Light Blue Series complete curriculum for Grade 1 for Boo to use, I remembered how great it was and jumped at the chance to review it!
The Math Mammoth Light Blue Series is a complete math curriculum that’s perfect for homeschoolers. You receive two student worktexts that include the instruction so older students can likely use the curriculum nearly on their own. There are also answer keys, tests, reviews, and a worksheet maker. I received the download version that included a bonus software Soft-Pak. The first grade curriculum starts with an optional kindergarten review and then covers addition, subtraction, place value, measuring lengths, geometric shapes, counting money, and reading a clock. It is common core aligned, which I don’t really care about one way or the other as long as it’s doing a good job of teaching my child math concepts. 🙂
The first grade curriculum also includes instructions for how to play a number of math games, and gives links to some online video lessons and numerous websites with extra practice for the math concepts we’re working on!
Boo has been working through the worktext four or five days a week and really growing in her math skills! After about a month, she’s almost done with the addition section, which also included greater than, less than, number lines, and more. The section she has completed is roughly a third of the first worktext.
There is lots of repetition, which is great for really mastering the concepts and very helpful for Boo who honestly tends to have a somewhat difficult time remembering things she’s learned most of the time. Even for her, there have been a few times where just she already really gets what she’s working on and the repetition is too much and makes her bored. When that happens it’s super simple to just let her skip a page or two and move on to the next new item.
She can’t read yet, so I do have to read the instructional texts to her, as well as the directions for each set of problems and the word problems and such. Sometimes there are days when she’s in a mood, or her younger sisters kept me up all night and I-just-can’t-even. On those occasions I can let her watch one of the video lessons or she can just play some math games at one of the many sites listed for supplemental work. 😀
Math Mammoth is so great! Boo is gaining a ton of confidence as she works slowly and methodically through first grade math concepts. The worktexts really focus on helping her understand what she’s doing, not just memorize facts.
She loves the variety of questions that she gets to do in each sections. For example, when working on “Sums with 6” she started with grouping six hippos as many ways as possible (zero and six, one and five, and so on). Then it had instructions for us to play a math game together, which was a huge hit for her. Next she had a math drill where I asked her questions and she answered them, followed by some missing number questions, a couple graphs dividing lemons and cucumbers into groups, and finally a super short review of other addition facts. We divided the lesson into two non-stressful, mostly enjoyable days of math. Then before she moved on to “Sums with 7” she got to spend some time learning about adding using a number line, which she thought was super fun. She also sometimes has word problems, math puzzles, addition tables, and other assorted problems that provide variety and help keep her interested. This is a no-nonsense, non-frilly math curriculum, but at least for first grade it’s still very kid-friendly.
Other than times when she just doesn’t want to do school at all, because she’s the reason I’ve been drinking about a gallon of coffee a day lately a very active, spirited seven year old, she doesn’t give me any push back about doing her math with this curriculum!
I only have a black and white printer, which means Boo is missing out on the fun color illustrations in her lessons. I could print the materials at Kinko’s or something, but honestly she’s really quite happy with her worktexts even without the color, so I don’t feel the need to spend the money. Speaking of money, one of the things I like about Math Mammoth is its affordability. Each grade’s curriculum is relatively inexpensive and usable by multiple kids! I’ll totally re-print the materials for Smiles in a couple years when she’s ready for first grade math, and then again for Apple.
Be sure to check out the Homeschool Review Crew link-up to find out what other reviewers have to say about Math Mammoth!
Have you ever used Math Mammoth? I’d love to hear what you think. Please feel free to ask if you have any questions, I’d be happy to try to help you out! 🙂
Hello lovelies! I’m so happy today to get to tell you about a new book I just discovered called Found. It’s a board book from The Jesus Storybook Bible brand that Zonderkidz sent me a free copy of to review. I had a feeling we would love it, because as I told you guys last week, we’re huge fans of The Jesus Storybook Bible around here. I was right, too, this sweet board book was an instant favorite!
Found, written by Sally Lloyd-Jones and illustrated by Jago, tells the story of the twenty-third Psalm in a way that engages even the littlest of kids. The adorable illustrations of a little lamb and its shepherd are perfect for keeping wiggly toddlers engaged, and the short and sweet story carries a big message about God’s great love for us!
I’ve read it to my little almost one year old baby girl numerous times, and unlike most board books that make me cringe with their mind-numbing lack of storyline, Found is a rich, poignant book that I actually wouldn’t mind having committed to memory for once.
Baby Apple adores it, too! She loves turning the pages and looking at all the pictures, and don’t you dare take it from her, because it is her favorite and she wants to keep it! The only problem with the book is the fact that my three year old also loves it, and sharing one of your favorite books is hard for itty-bitties people of any age. 😀
This sweet board book has already earned itself a spot on my list of books to give new parents, or to my nieces and nephews for Birthdays or Christmas, or even just because.
