Physical Education

 

So many ask, how do you teach physical education? Well, I don't teach this class. I pay someone else to teach physical education. One daughter plays Division I soccer year round - so she puts in several hours every week with a trainer. My other two daughters dance - one is quite happy at Gateway Dance, where she is able to dance to Christian music - and one is quite busy as a company member of Beaumont Civic Ballet, where she puts in several hours every week with a teacher. And all three of my girls participate in a Homeschool Bowling League - that includes lessons before each league event; and will soon participate in Track/Cross Country with our co-op.

 

There are so many ways to keep our kids healthy and fit - how do you teach physical education? 

Count Your Blessings

How is your homeschool today? Has the latest disaster drained your energy and given you an attitude that is less than positive? Just when you think you can’t take anymore, you need to step back and regain your focus. Your children need you to bring a positive perspective to their learning environment.

I pray this poem will encourage you to be thankful and count your blessings.

Count Your Blessings

Count your blessings instead of your crosses;

Count your gains instead of your losses.

Count your joys instead of your woes;

Count your friends instead of your foes.

Count your smiles instead of your tears;

Count your courage instead of your fears.

Count your full years instead of your lean;

Count your kind deeds instead of your mean.

Count your health instead of your wealth;

Count on God instead of yourself.

-          Author Unknown

Macbeth E-Guide - TOS Crew Review

We love using Progeny Press for our literature study guides so we were excited to receive the Macbeth E-Guide to review. The Macbeth E-Guide is an Interactive Study Guide written for grade levels 9-12. With the interactive files, students have the capability of entering their answers directly on the computer and saving their work in progress. The interactive file does not automatically grade the student’s work, teacher’s still grade their work right on the computer and can leave comments or notes within the file. You may also print off the study guide, purchase of the study guide entitles an individual teacher to reproduce pages for use in the classroom or home. Multiple teachers may not reproduce pages from the same study guide. I usually purchase the booklets, so I printed out the study guide for my girls.

Like all Progeny Press study guides, the Macbeth E-Guide includes:

·         A concise synopsis of the book

·         Information about the author

·         Background information pertinent to the story

·         Suggestions for pre-reading activities

·         Vocabulary exercises for each section of reading

 

·         Literary analysis and terminology questions designed to give students a good understanding of writing technique and how to use it

 

·         Critical analysis questions designed to help students consider and analyze the intellectual, moral, and spiritual issues in the play and weigh them with reference to scripture

 

·         A complete answer key and suggestions for further reading

Macbeth is a classic tragedy by William Shakespeare. A brave Scottish general named Macbeth receives a prophecy from a trio of witches that one day he will become King of Scotland. Consumed by ambition and spurred to action by his wife, Macbeth murders King Duncan and takes the Scottish throne for himself. He is then wracked with guilt and paranoia. Forced to commit more and more murders to protect himself from enmity and suspicion, he soon becomes a tyrannical ruler. The bloodbath and consequent civil war swiftly take Macbeth and Lady Macbeth into realms of madness and death.

Macbeth, also known as The Tragedy of Macbeth, is thought to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatizes the damaging physical and psychological effects of political ambition on those who seek power for its own sake. Of all the plays that Shakespeare wrote during the reign of James I, who was patron of Shakespeare’s acting company, Macbeth most clearly reflects the playwright’s relationship with his sovereign. It was first published in the Folio of 1623, possibly from a prompt book, and is Shakespeare’s shortest tragedy.

Since 1992, Progeny Press has provided homeschool parents and Christian school teachers with study guides for culturally relevant books and novels, examined from a Christian perspective. Progeny Press study guides are designed to teach students of all ages to examine what they read, Christian or secular, classic or contemporary, and value the truth it contains as measured against the Bible. A worthy goal indeed! If you want to study great literature from a Christian perspective, here’s your answer! If in doubt, try one – I’m sure you’ll be back for more!

Visit the Crew Blog to read what the Homeschool Review Crew has to say about Progeny Press.

 

September Summit

You are invited to attend the September Summit on September 30, 2017 at Mid-Way Baptist Church, 4512 Ellis Drive, Kountze, TX 77625. The four sessions of the September Summit are faith, friendships, food, and fun. These four f’s are the ingredients for a happy homeschool mom.

FAITH – A short time of reviewing what God has to say about issues closets to a mother’s heart can do wonders to fill up an exhausted mom. Susan Reed, a homeschool mother of three, shares how you can have joy in the journey with your priorities in place.

FRIENDSHIPS – Friendships strengthen us to be better wives and mothers. As any mom can attest, we tend to get so focused on others that we neglect ourselves; and that’s not good for anyone. We need to be with other homeschool moms – for that occasional grown-up conversation. A time to encourage one another and learn from each other’s challenges. During this session, conversation prompts will set in motion the “gift of gab”.

FOOD – There’s something about a get-together with food that nourishes a mother’s heart as well as her body. A luncheon will be served with chicken Caesar salad, bread, brownie, and iced tea.

FUN – Fun is the final, and in my opinion the most important session. Proverbs 17:22 says, “a merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones.” The Bible seems to suggest that laughter is a good antidote for the blues. That’s why I take fun so seriously. Therefore, a good game is a critical component for a successful September Summit.

09:00 – Check-In & Summit Shoppe

09:30 – FAITH

10:30 – FRIENDSHIPS

11:30 – FOOD & Summit Shoppe

12:30 – FUN

01:30 – Door Prizes – you must be present to win!

REGISTER by September 24, 2017 to attend the September Summit and join moms like you to celebrate the homeschool journey together! We do not offer refunds, just as you had purchased a ticket for a concert or sporting event. However, you may transfer your registration to one other person. If you wish to transfer your registration to another person, please email susanmreed22@gmail.com with the transferee name and contact information.

 

Backpack Drive

In all my efforts to help homeschool families affected by Hurricane Harvey, I want to do something for our local public school students who have lost everything; but I need your help. If you will purchase a backpack or two, I will fill each backpack with school supplies, and distribute them to the local schools.

Please visit https://www.mythirtyone.com/susan-reed/product/3039/cinch-sac-loopsy-daisy to make a donation and help replace what has been taken by the flood waters. Thank you for helping Southeast Texas!

Marine Biology 2nd Edition Advantage Set - TOS Crew Review

We love Apologia Educational Ministries science courses so we were excited to review their Marine Biology 2nd Edition AdvantageSet. The set includes Student Textbook, Student Notebook, and Solutions Manual; but we also had the pleasure to review the Marine Biology 2nd Edition Audio CD. This biblically-centered course is written specifically for use in a homeschool environment.

If your high school student has completed a biology course, and is interested in marine biology, this course is for you! Exploring Creation with Marine Biology is an advanced biology course that focuses exclusively on marine wildlife and marine habitats, providing a survey of members of each kingdom that lives in underwater environments. This text contains 16 modules. Topics include microscopic organisms that make life in the ocean possible and the anatomy of macroscopic marine creatures such as clams, starfish, and sharks. Students will discover how these creatures and their physical surroundings form marine ecosystems such as intertidal zones, estuaries, coral reefs, continental shelf communities, epipelagic communities, and deep-ocean communities. As you study all these things, you will see that the oceans play a vital role for all life on earth, and you will be amazed at God’s handiwork!

The Student Textbook includes all the student reading, instructions for labs, “On Your Own” questions, and a study guide at the end of each module. The text has a conversational tone, and concepts are explained in an easy-to-understand way. Answers to the “On Your Own” questions are also included with discussion at the end of each module.

The Student Notebook includes a daily schedule, notetaking pages, and space for answering all the “On Your Own” questions found in the Student Textbook. But the most important and exciting section of the notebook is the lab report section. Completing experiments and lab reports is an essential part of science education. In this section, you will be able to record everything you learn as you complete each experiment in the Student Textbook.

The Solution Manual includes answers to each study guide at the end of each module, tests, and test solutions. The set also includes a separate perforated test booklet.

The MP3 Audio CD is a complete audio recording of the course – this is the perfect accompaniment to the textbook for students who are auditory learners, slow readers, or have other learning disabilities that make reading difficult. The audio files are in MP3 format, and will require an MP3-compatible CD player to use (these can also be run on most computers). Marissa Leinart captures your attention as she narrates every part of the book, verbatim, including the notes to the student.

Please note, the labs for this course come in 3 types: microscope labs, dissection labs, and household labs. Since biology is a prerequisite for this course, you already have a microscope. The microscope labs require a prepared slides kit, which contains several prepared slides. The dissection labs require a dissection specimens set. You should still have your dissection tools from your biology course. The household labs use only household equipment. A complete list of all lab supplies is located in Appendix C of the student textbook.

Apologia Educational Ministries is the only science curriculum we use, so I must add, that if you have a visual learner, I highly recommend purchasing the Video Instruction DVD featuring Apologia author and scientist Sherri Seligson. The DVDs include instructional videos for each module, animated diagrams of difficult concepts, and video presentation of every experiment from the Student Textbook. I did not receive the Video Instructional DVD from Apologia Educational Ministries for this review, but this is one item my daughter needs to make this a complete curriculum set. I am so glad homeschooling allows us the freedom to choose the curriculum for each student’s learning style. Using Apologia Educational Ministries science courses allows my students to study independently while mastering in-depth knowledge through hands-on application of contemporary scientific concepts.

Apologia Educational Ministries prepares students for college-level studies as well as life beyond the classroom. Every science course is designed to be vibrant, engaging, and academically rigorous while helping the student to develop critical thinking skills and lifelong passion for exploring God’s creation.

Visit the Crew Blog to read what the Homeschool Review Crew has to say about Apologia Educational Ministries Marine Biology 2^nd Edition Advantage Set.

 

Homeschool Help After Hurricane Harvey

While it is perhaps only a small help - given the large losses that some have sustained - I would like to add a Homeschool Help section to THE Book Nook to help replace curriculum that was destroyed in the latest disaster. So many homeschool families in Southeast Texas have lost their curriculum, and we can help! Please consider donating your extra/unused curriculum and help a homeschool family replace what was lost and get back on track with their home education.

Here is what we need:
New or Like New Curriculum (current editions please)
New or Unopened School Supplies
Cash Donations to help with shipping cost

The Plan:
Over the next month, we will collect items and cash donations. You can mail your donations to THE Book Nook, 6235 Hwy 69 South, Kountze, TX 77625. Cash donations can be made directly to PayPal through susanmreed22@yahoo.com.

Once families are able to settle down and get back into the homeschool routine, they can contact THE Book Nook stating what they specifically need, and if we have the items, we will ship them to the families.