Homeschool Collection October 2019

It has been a few month since I have linked up to the Homeschool Collection; and I am sorry for not participating when these posts encourage the homeschool parent, share tips and tricks for teaching all grade levels, and simply remind us that we're not alone on this journey. We have fourteen Homeschool Review Crew members here to encourage you on your homeschool journey.

Chareen @ Every Bed of Roses shares

* Science at Home

* FREE Geography Resources for Homeschool

* 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (Unit Study)

* Seabird (Unit Study)

Kym @ Homeschool Coffee Break shares

* Can You Combine Classes for Kids in Different Grades?

* Homeschooling Is Hard for Extroverts

* 5 Tips for Finding What Words in Your Homeschool

* History Lesson - Thanksgiving in Canada

Susan @ My Happy Homeschool shares

* The Balance Between Homeschooling and Homemaking

Yvie @ Homeschool on the Range shares

* The First Thanksgiving (Unit Study)

* Ten Best Vinatge Novels for Girls

* Questions About Homeschooling High School with The Good & The Beautiful

* Willa of the Wood & Basic Foraging

Tina @ Meaningful Explorations shares

* Staying on Top of the Laundry Pile

* Thanksgiving Activities for Kids

* Fun-tastic Spelling Games

Lori @ At Home: Where Life Happens shares

* A Round Up of Bird Study Resources

* Inner Space Cavern

Crystal @ Our Little Bunch shares

* Letter of the Week - All About M

* Easy Leaf Suncatchers

Kristen @ A Mom's Quest to Teach shares

* B is for Barton

* Book Club: Joan Procter, Dragon Doctor: The Woman Who Loved Reptiles

* C is for Chamberlain

* Book Club: Book Review of Hope's Highest Mountain

NA'Arah @ NA'Arah's Talitha shares

* How to Start Homeschooling

* 20 Reasons to Homeschool Your Children

* My Story 2 (Social Studies) Review

* Homeschool Burnout: Keep It Simple

Annette @ A Net In Time shares

* The Ease of Consistent Schedules

* Gather Resources for Highschool

* The Problem With Middle School Science

* Spies, Lies, and Disguise

Felicia @ Homeschool 4 Life shares

* Guess Who?

* I Can See Pumpkins

* Homeschool Basics

* 100 Family Time Activities

Pam @ Simply Passionate shares

* 5 Reasons to Love Outer Banks

* Raising Critical Thinkers

* WOW Summit Texas Takeaways

Dawn @ Schoolin' Sway shares

* School Doesn't Have to Come First

* Letting Go of Good Things

* Resources for Early North Carolina History

Jacqui @ Homestead Bounty Blessings shares

* Why Do I Homeschool

Happy Homeschooling! 

Creating a Masterpiece - Crew Review

Do you have a student who loves to draw? Then you might be interested in a one-year subscription to the online Drawing Program from Creating a Masterpiece. The program is designed for children and teens. Instructor, Sharon Hofer, teaches art classes out of her home studio and now offers step-by-step video instruction online.


My 16-year-old daughter completed three different drawings, one in each level, during the review period. The lesson videos in each project were very easy for my daughter to follow so she completed each leveled drawing within 30 to 45 minutes, all in one sitting; even though the instructor suggested that students take a break throughout the projects.

In Level One, she completed Lessons in Pencil: Tuckered Out Turtle. This project includes six lesson videos. Students need the following art supplies to complete this project: 9x12 white drawing paper, drawing pencil 6B, and pencil eraser. In this project, my daughter used curved and straight lines to draw the basic shapes. Then she experimented with texture and shading to make this slow, moving turtle come alive.

In Level Two, she completed Lessons in Pencil: Antique Lantern. This project includes five lesson videos in Lesson One; and three lesson videos in Lesson Two. Students need the following art supplies to complete this project: 9x12 white drawing paper, drawing pencil 6B, and pencil eraser. In this project, my daughter learned how to draw glass and make it look transparent while drawing the lantern three dimensional on a flat piece of paper.

In Level Three, she completed Lessons in Pencil: Rocketing through Space. This project includes six lesson videos. Students need the following art supplies to complete this project: 9x12 white drawing paper, drawing pencil 6B, drawing pencil 2B, pencil eraser, and ruler. In this project, my daughter learned how to draw smoke; and how to draw a cylinder to make it look round.


Through out these lessons in pencil, my daughter learned how to incorporate values in a project. Artists want to make sure they have a good value range in their drawing. You always want to have a dark value, a middle value, and a very light value. She also learned how to avoid smearing her project with her hand. When working with pencil, it is important not to allow the side of your hand to touch the paper where you have already drawn. If it does, you will find it smearing and the lead will cover the side of your hand. You will lose the different values of the drawing if you let this happen.


I would also like to talk about the importance of using quality paper. If you use cheap printing paper, you will not be able to erase as well, or get the deep values, as there is no grit on the paper. Also, when you erase on a thin piece of paper, it wrinkles the paper and makes the entire project look cheap. A good quality drawing paper is very important for getting professional results even for the very young artist.

The online Drawing Program from Creating a Masterpiece is a great resource for an online elective for art classes. It will inspire children and teens to create their own masterpiece through simple step-by-step video instruction. Visit the Crew Blog to read what the Homeschool Review Crew has to say about the Drawing Program from Creating a Masterpiece.

Homeschool Review Crew

Are you a fellow homeschool blogger currently homeschooling at least one child from Pre-K to 12^th grade? Do you like trying new curriculum or educational products? Then this post is for you! The Old Schoolhouse is accepting applications for the 2020 Homeschool Review Crew.


Our family has welcomed the opportunity to try new curriculum throughout the years. Without these opportunities, we would have never used some curriculum that are now family favorites. We absolutely love Apologia science; and as teacher, I especially love how it challenges students and prepares them for college. We have also found some supplements that have been very useful during the high school years, like Vocabulary Virtuoso and the High School Essay Intensive. We have been able to expand our library and learned about several heroes in history through YWAM Publishing. We recently had the opportunity to learn art through a drawing program from Creating a Masterpiece; and I will share this review soon.


As a member of the Homeschool Review Crew, I must maintain an active blog by posting at least one non-sponsored post each week. Our family uses each review product during the review period (usually about six weeks) and I write a positive review with the required 500 minimum word count. I have made a commitment to meet deadlines by posting the review to my blog page and linking up to the crew blog during the due date window. I am also committed to sharing each review on social media through two platforms – Facebook and Pinterest. Our review year runs January through mid-November. If you believe you would be an asset to our Homeschool Review Crew please click HERE to learn more about the requirements and if you wish to join us, please click HERE to fill out the application.

Brain Blox Wooden Building Planks - Crew Review

Brain Blox Wooden Building Planks from Brain Blox inspires builders of all ages to think creatively, embrace challenges, and be persistent. These solid wood building planks are made from all natural,  chemical free, precision cut, premium New Zealand Pine wood. The boxed set includes 200 Building Planks, a full color Building Ideas booklet, a red canvas drawstring backpack for storage or building on the go, along with access to Brain Blox University where learning and fun go together.

As soon as the set of Building Planks arrived, my 13-year-old daughter started building with them. She has always had a love for building, especially with her Lego Friends; but this was something new for her. No step-by-step instructions to follow. She really had to use her brain to construct the ideas. Better yet, she used her brain to construct and build her own designs! Can you guess what animal she created with these Building Planks?


It’s been wonderful to see how versatile these Building Planks are. As a building toy, these Building Planks provide hours of open-ended play. But these Building Planks are also useful in the classroom setting teaching math, physics, and engineering concepts. Owners, Brian and Christine Sweet, homeschooled their three children and created a wonderful teaching tool for other homeschool families to be used beyond the obvious “building block” usage. Here is VIDEO from a homeschool mom who used these Building Planks to teach phonics and math. Here is another VIDEO from a teenager who used these Building Planks to create a chain reaction machine. Students even learn manipulation of spatial information, development of spatial intelligence, fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, and linear thinking through the following Let’s Build idea cards.

Brain Blox University offers free Let’s Build idea cards. The idea cards are a fun, challenging way to train the brain to turn 2-dimensional pictures into 3-dimensional creations. There are 70 Let’s Build idea cards with eight different levels to choose from, these printable cards are packed full of building challenges.

The Brain Blox University offers a free World eBook full of fun building ideas to ignite your imagination. This eBook contains ideas for numerous towers, fences, trees, boats, planes, animals, buildings and more to inspire your creativity.

The Brain Box University offers free Brain Puzzles. There are 13 Brain Puzzles, along with printable solutions for each puzzle. My daughter and I really had to think about a couple of these. They definitely give your brain a workout!


These simple Building Planks don’t need any magnets or connectors of any kind! These simple Building Planks simply require balance, friction, and your child’s unlimited imagination. These Building Planks encourage builders of all ages to turn screens off and engage in constructive, open-ended play that is FUN!


Visit the Crew Blog to read what the Homeschool Review Crew has to say about these Building Planks from Brain Blox.

A-Z Animals: E for Elephant

A-Z Animals provides a mini unit study for each letter of the alphabet for early learning. Each unit provides three activities using a children’s book as the theme for parents and students to complete together.

Read with Me

Read the children’s book “Elephants” by Lucy Freegard.

Learn with Me

Learn about elephants through this VIDEO link.

Create with Me

Create an Elephant Bookmark through this VIDEO link.

Happy Homeschooling!

National Cookie Month

National Cookie Month is observed in October. Plus, it's National Dessert Month, so you can enjoy all the cookies you want in October! These sweet treats are easy-to-eat desserts that everyone loves, and there are hundreds of different ones to choose from. 

With Fall in the air, it's definitely the month to get in the kitchen, and make some cookie memories with the kids. Today, I would like to share a family favorite - Peanut Butter Cookies - and you only need four ingredients to make these cookies!

2 cups peanut butter

2 cups granulated sugar

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

To make these cookies, preheat the oven to 350F. Simply stir all the ingredients together in a large bowl. Using a small cookie scoop, scoop the dough onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Dip a fork in sugar and make a criss-cross pattern to flatten each cookie. Bake for 10 minutes.

National Cookie Month is the perfect time to share cookie recipes. Do you have a family favorite?