Review of Getting Started With French

I have been exploring a new foreign language curriculum, Getting Started with French from Armfield Academic Press. I took two years of Spanish in High School but only remember a little of the vocabulary so I love trying to learn languages all over again beside my children. We've tackled Latin and Spanish so I was curious to see how French flowed and if their were any similarities since it is one of the romance languages.  I discovered some similarities but French also has its own unique qualities.  


The book itself comes in a paperback workbook style with 172 lessons. Each lesson gently introduces students to French vocabulary including articles, direct objects, gender, infinitives, singular and plural nouns and so much more. Lessons are simple and quick to complete and designed to build upon each other so skipping ahead is not a good idea. 

 
In the beginning of the book are instructions guiding students and parents through the layout of the lessons. When a lesson contains a new word, students will always find the word in bold print along with pronunciation hints and meaning. There are also exercises for students to complete that contain past and current vocabulary. You see more pages in this preview of the book.

There are no tests included in the book but there is a suggestion to test students at the end of a lesson by having them translate the exercises without looking at the answers. The beauty of this curriculum is that you go at your own pace. If you don't grasp something, simply repeat until you do. 

 
I loved that the lessons could easily be completed in less than 30 minutes per day with some earlier lessons taking much less time than that. I also loved that you were not just left alone to try to figure out pronunciations. There is a pronunciation guide located in the back of the book along with the answers to the lessons and a glossary.

But what I loved most were the accessories available at the website. You can download mp3 commentaries on each lesson as well as the pronunciations from a native French speaker for free. The commentaries are very informative and even give students tricks on how to form their mouth and tongue to produce the correct pronunciation. I found myself laughing out loud as I tried to replicate my new French vocabulary words with my southern accent. I spared y'all the recording of that! I do recommend that you have your students record themselves saying the words though because when you listen to yourself say it back, it's easier to catch mispronunciations or at least it was for me. 

 
I would highly recommend this book to homeschoolers looking for a gentle and quick introduction to French for their students. I think it would be great to add it to a morning basket or read aloud to learn as a family and then you could practice together through out the day and week too. 

 
Another recommendation the book gave is for a high school or college student who is trying to grasp the basics before taking a French class. It's also great for parents like me who still love learning too! It's so quick and easy to complete a lesson that fitting it into your daily schedule isn't difficult at all.

Mr. Linney also has books available for other languages too - Getting Started with Latin, Getting Started with Spanish, and coming soon is Getting Started with Russian.

Find out more by visiting Armfield Academic Press on Facebook.

Virtual Homeschool Coop | 2016-2017 Introduction

This response video is my part of the Virtual Homeschool Coop Channel Collaboration. You can find out more at www.virtualhomeschoolcoop.com. The goal of the Virtual Homeschool Coop is to build the homeschool community of knowledge with collaborations to give voice to all experiences in homeschooling.

Here is an introduction to our homeschool for the 2016-2017 school year.  We are entering into our 8th year of homeschool in the state of NC and now have only two students left that are homeschooling - Sarah (8th grade) and Stephen (10th grade).  We have one homeschool graduate - whoop whoop!

We had one mission when we began homeschooling and that was to teach our children God's Word so they could grow in their relationship with Him.  I knew that if I could accomplish that one goal, He would equip them with whatever else He wanted them to learn!  You can read more about our mission statement aka our "why" here.  

We take a very eclectic approach when it comes to curriculum and LOVE trying out new curriculum to see if it fits our family.  We have been a part of the Schoolhouse Review Crew for many years and that helps to feed our curriculum addictions interests.

We are so excited to meet other homeschooling families and to encourage them in their journeys as well as be encouraged ourselves.  Please leave us a comment to let us know where you are from!  Our focus this year is on World Geography so we would love to know where you are and we will add your family to our prayers!

Here is our Introduction Video:

If you would like to join the Coop, go here to learn more. No voice is too small! 

Weekly Wrap Up | Week 4

Week 4 is done and there goes one month of school!  Is it just me or does 2016 seem to be flying by at extreme speeds?!?

The whole week seemed a blur so I am having a hard time recapping this week!

I did set up this little bin to hold our trivia/vocabulary cards because they were beginning to overtake my desk.  It is working great so far.  

Sarah's geography focus for the next 2 weeks is North America with this week's emphasis on the USA.  We decided to sign up for the geography fair in November too so we need to make a plan to start prepping for that each week.  Sarah chose Canada and Stephen chose Chile as their countries.

This country fact sheet is from NotebookingPages.com.

We reviewed Logic of English last year and are continuing through the book this year.  Sarah is really enjoying seeing the words all fit together and it's helping her spelling confidence too.

Stephen began reading a new book for English this week and finished up his first A.C.E. pace so we have another book added to the done pile!  

We are still currently reading aloud from Kingdom Tales and Pray-ers (review coming soon).

I am continuing to read in Hosea and the gospel of John for quiet time.  Next week is going to be a busy one as basketball tryouts for both children will be going on and I am going to try my hand at a few freezer meals. I've double portions before and froze them but never actually attempted several meals at once!  

So, leave any tips you have in the comment section - please!!

Linking up with Weekly Wrap-Up

Is Your Homeschool Structured or Relaxed? | #VHC

This response video is my part of the Virtual Homeschool Coop Channel Collaboration. You can find out more at www.virtualhomeschoolcoop.com. The goal of the Virtual Homeschool Coop is to build the homeschool community of knowledge with collaborations to give voice to all experiences in homeschooling.

So this week's question is do we think our homeschool is structured or relaxed and to rate it on a scale from 0 being no structure to 10 being high structure. Here are my thoughts on our homeschool.

Overall, I gave our homeschool a rate of 7 on the structured/relaxed scale. My children and myself thrive on structure so we may be a little more structured then some homeschools out there.

In curriculum, I gave our homeschool a rate of 6 because I am learning to be a lot more flexible in this area than when we first started. I am no longer a slave to my curriculum but use it as a tool to help facilitate the needs that my children need met. If it doesn't work for us, I'm okay with getting rid of it although I do like to give it a good go before sending it on. If it brings tears, sweat, and fights then it really has to go. There are way too many options out there for any of those to be the case!

In our daily routine, I gave our homeschool a rate of 7 because we do have a schedule and try our best to stick to it. Again as the years have passed and my children are involved with extra curricula activities, we have learned to allow for flexibility in our schedule. I am a planner at heart so having a plan makes me feel accomplished even if we only get to half of it for the week. It will still be there for us the next week ready to go!

In our homeschool space, I gave our homeschool a rate of 8 because the majority of our homeschooling takes place in our school room. We do have school on the road, in the dining room, on the living room couch, etc but for the most part all school materials, supplies, and learning resides in our homeschool room.

See this video to hear more thoughts on our homeschool ratings:

If you would like to join the Coop, go here to learn more. No voice is too small!

Weekly Wrap-Up Week 3

Week 3 had a very special day in it - Sarah's 13th birthday!  Yes, now we have a house full of teenagers!  I've said it before many times but it is worth saying again - time sure flies!!

Every year now for many years, her favorite thing to do is to make her own birthday cake. Here is this year's creation.  

In school, we are continuing along with our trivia questions and added in Science and Geometry for Stephen.  Here is a quick glance at my stash.  Yes, I am still learning myself. Review coming soon on Getting Started With French. 

Here is a quick glance at Stephen's stash.  

Here is a quick look at some of Sarah's stash.  

Geography is our big focus this year.  So far we've covered an overview of the continents and oceans as we prepare to visit each continent this year.  

Our current read aloud time is coming from the stories in this book.  We love the way they make the stories relate back to our relationship with God.  

2 books in the done section!

I am continuing to read in Hosea and finished Romans this week in my Bible studies.  I will begin in the gospel of John next week.  

My step goal is seriously suffering for the past month at least.  I just cannot seem to get back focused!  

Linking up with Weekly Wrap-Up

Review of Spiritual Circle Journal #spiritualcirclejournal #prayerjournal

My daughter has started to include the Spiritual Circle Journal for Kids & Teens as part of her Bible time. This journal, from Spiritual Circle Journal, has been a wonderful new addition to our weekly homeschool Bible time.

The journal is simple to use and comes in a sturdy spiral bound notebook. It is a consumable notebook to be used by one student. It is recommended for ages 8 and up and contains 66 journal sheet outlines meant to be used on a weekly basis with a few extra sheets included.

The journal comes with a fun illustrated cover but it also includes a sheet of blank white card stock allowing students to design their own cover if they wish. 

In the front section are 3 pages of guided instructions to help parents, homeschoolers, and ministry leaders use this tool with their children and students. They give you step by step instructions as well as ideas to help your get your student's own creative juices flowing. The whole point of the journal is for students to make it their own by spending their time with the Lord creating, learning, and remembering what He has done for them throughout the week.

There is also a personal page included at the beginning where students can list facts about themselves for the school year as well as some of their favorite things.

In the back of the journal are 16 summary sheets that students can use in any way they choose. The sheets have 9 circles on them. Some suggestions given were to write in their favorite verses, ways that they have seen God move, or to use them as summary pages for Bible characters.

In Our Homeschool

Sarah, who is 12, is using this journal for her quiet time once a week. Each week she uses her daily devotional and picks out her favorite verse for the week to journal and illustrate. She usually does this on Friday. She uses the guided key and fills in her own personal thoughts for the week. The key has great illustrations that relate to the topic written in them such as the "God Moving" section is an outline of a car and the "Actions" section is the outline of a tennis shoe. All together there are 9 journal entry sections on each page titled Journal Entry, Lyric/Verse, Message, Confession, God Moving, Lesson Learned/Light Bulb Moment (guess what that picture is), Prayer, Thank You/Adoration, and Actions. 

The illustrations make it fun and simple to add her own journal entries. As stated earlier, Sarah uses her daily devotional that she is pulling her Bible verses from but another suggested idea is for students to use their weekly sermon notes, Sunday school lessons, etc.

Then at the end of the month, she writes those verses in the back of the journal in the summary pages for a quick reference to all of her favorite Bible verses. Sometimes she just writes the verses out and sometimes she adds little illustrations to them depending upon the time and her mood.

We think this is a wonderful resource for any household to aid students in their own quiet time! Not only does it add to their retention of God's Word but what a valuable treasure to have at the end of each school year - written evidence of God moving in their life - priceless!

I am so happy that my daughter is learning these truths at a young age and what a blessing when products are designed for just that purpose. May they carry her through all her years!

We were also sent these beautiful servant prayer cards that have a whole page of supporting scripture verses on the back. 

You can connect with Spiritual Circle Journal on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

Weekly Wrap-Up | Week 2

Week 2 complete and look I'm here updating!  Comment when you read this with a "yay", it will keep me motivated.  :)

We're still easing back in and should be back to a full schedule in a few weeks.  

Sarah is still loving Apologia's General Science although she finds the reading a little difficult. She is doing a great job!

Stephen added Spanish II back in this week. I was slack on picture taking this week so I need to do better on that next week.

It has been a great 2 weeks so far.  Official read aloud time begins back next which I am looking forward too.  We have been finishing up some of last years books so I'm looking forward to starting some new ones next week.  

Basketball practice will pick up over the next few weeks as well so we will be finding our new normal routine as that approaches too.  So far though we are on track and all systems are a go!

Favorite homeschool thing this week would be starting My Father's World ECC.  This is our 2nd time through but it is always so eye opening to the world around us as well as our own home.