Homeschoolers Helping Homeschoolers

Tropical Storm Imelda was the fifth-wettest tropical cyclone on record in the continental United States, causing devastating and record-breaking floods in southeast Texas. THE Book Nook is a distribution center to supply homeschool families affected by Tropical Storm Imelda with curriculum and school supplies.

For donations, mail new or like new curriculum (current editions please) and/or school supplies to THE Book Nook, 6235 Hwy 69 South, Kountze, TX 77625. Cash donations can be made through PayPal to susanmreed22@yahoo.com to help with shipping cost.

For distributions, email susanmreed22@yahoo.com your name, address, and list of curriculum needs. For those who live locally, call or text 409-504-8135 to make an appointment to come by THE Book Nook to pickup materials.

Many families in southeast Texas just recovered from Hurricane Harvey and are now in recovery mode again from Tropical Storm Imelda. While it is perhaps only a small help, given the large losses that some have sustained, homeschoolers can help other homeschoolers replace what the flood waters took. Please consider donating your extra/unused curriculum and help a homeschool family replace what was lost and help them get back on track with their home education.

Texas HOME Educators - October Newsletter

Calendar of Events

October 04 Ballet Classes & Co-op Classes

October 11 Ballet Classes & Bowling League

October 18 Ballet Classes & Bowling League

October 25 Ballet Classes & Bowling League

Co-op Classes

Musical Theater – we will meet on October 4 at 1:00 p.m. at Midway Baptist Church, 4512 Ellis Drive, Kountze, TX 77625 for rehearsal of our “Annie” musical theater production. Please be sure each student brings a copy of the script and music that were sent through email (two attachments).

Service Scouts – we will meet on October 4 at 2:00 p.m. at Midway Baptist Church, 4512 Ellis Drive, Kountze, TX 77625 to complete attendance, awards, share and prayer; then we will carpool to the Lumberton Fire Department for a fire safety lesson. Each family needs to bring one dozen cookies for the firefighters. Members will be earning two patches this month, Fire Safety and Cookies for Firefighters. Members can enroll in our group at any time during the year. Students K-12 may participate in Service Scouts, a program designed to award youth for their community service.

Ballet Classes

09:00 Ballet I (ages 3-6)

09:45 Ballet II (ages 7-10)

09:45 Jazz (ages 11+)

10:30 Ballet III (ages 11+)

11:15 Pointe (ages 11+)

Classes are held at Studio D in Lumberton, Texas. Tuition is $50 per class, per month. Tuition is due by the first Friday of each month. Girls ballet attire is black leotard, pink tights, pink ballet shoes, and hair in bun. Boys ballet attire is white fitted shirt, black jazz pants, and black ballet shoes. Girls pointe attire is black leotard, pink ballet tights, pink pointe shoes, and hair in bun. Girls jazz attire is black leotard, black jazz pants, and tan jazz shoes. Boys jazz attire is black fitted shirt, black jazz pants, and tan jazz shoes. If you have any questions, please text Susan Reed at 409-504-8135 or Brieanna Reed at 409-998-9159.

Bowling League

The homeschool bowling league is a seven-week season held at Crossroads Bowling Center in Beaumont, Texas. Bumper Buddies pay $5 weekly to bowl 2 games. League Members pay $8 weekly to bowl 3 games, plus a one-time $4 registration fee. Please bring cash weekly because all money is collected in team envelopes. League games will start promptly at 1:00 p.m. on the 2^nd, 3^rd, and 4^th Friday of each month. Please note, no league games will be played on the 1^st Friday due to co-op classes.

National Piano Month

Whether you dabble on the keys in your spare time, spend hours on the bench practicing to become the next virtuoso, teach piano for a living, or simply enjoy listening to the piano, we can all agree – the piano is an amazing instrument. In 1991, the National Piano Foundation declared September to be National Piano Month; and as a piano teacher, I would like to encourage you to learn more about the piano.

Piano Types

Piano experts and enthusiasts are able to identify four basic types of pianos – the Spinet, Console, Studio, and Grande. The Spinet is the smallest of all pianos. Spinet pianos have a large number of working parts and have the characterization as being dropped action pianos. Dropped action refers to the hammer-like striking action to strike the keys. Similar to its relative, the Console piano is closest to the Spinet piano in size. Furthermore, the action needed to play the Spinet piano is also used for the Console piano. Studio pianos are taller than both the Spinet and Console pianos, respectively. The Studio piano also offers a richer tone than the two. However, the Studio piano has a different feel in comparison to a Spinet or Console piano. Finally, Grande pianos are the largest of all pianos. Similar to Studio pianos, Grande pianos are full of rich sounds that are carried carefully within the keys to emit a beautiful sound. Grande pianos are known to be the most beautiful and durable of all four pianos. Notably, when properly cared for, Grande pianos will last generations, making them a timeless heirloom.

Piano History

We give credit to Bartolomeo Cristofori as the inventor of the first piano in Padua, Italy, around 1700. At the time, Cristofori’s employment with Florentine Court of the Grand Prince Ferdinando de Medici put him in charge of a large collection of the Prince’s musical instruments, including his harpsichords. During this time, Cristofori’s interest in stringed-instruments led him to the early development of the piano. Cristofori’s early piano designs were a testament to technological innovations in keyboard instruments of the times. As expected, the piano underwent tremendous changes during the 1790s to the 1860s,  leading to the modern form of piano.

Piano Challenge

Try learning to play the piano in celebration of National Piano Month. If you are already a piano student, challenge yourself to learn a new song or consider getting involved in a piano competition.

Happy Homeschooling!

Thou Art With Me

Psalm 23:4 reads "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me." This was the key verse from my morning devotional that I read through tears just after hearing the news; and yet these were words of encouragement. Words cannot express the sadness and heartache. I lost the baby, yet my body was unable to process the miscarriage, so I had a D&C on Wednesday, September 11, 2019. Although our situations may vary, we all endure difficult struggles and overwhelming circumstances that can cause us to fear. In these moments, may we find encouragement in the truth that God's powerful presence is with us. Please keep me and my family in your prayers during this time.

Four-Box Method to Organize Your School Room

Sometimes all you need for a fresh start, is a clean school room. I really love our Four-Box Method. You basically get four big boxes, and label each one.

* Keep

* Trash

* Donate

* Relocate

As you remove everything from your school room, you will organize everything according to these boxes. Get your boxes labelled and let's get to work.

Keep

This is everything you use on a daily basis. If you have not used something in four weeks, it goes into the "relocate" box.

Trash

Get rid of everything you can. You need a clean school room to be able to focus and have a fresh start. Stop holding onto things that don't serve you.

Donate

I think this is my biggest box. There were so many things I had bought that I didn't want to throw away, but I didn't need to keep. I texted certain people whom I thought might be interested and asked them to come get what they wanted. Everything else left over in this box, all went to Goodwill.

Relocate

Relocate items throughout the house, putting everything back in its place. If the box contains items you rarely need, but these items are important when you do need them, simply label the box and put it in the basement or a closet so it can be easily located when you do need it.

Happy Homeschooling!

Music Appreciation Book 2: for the Middle Grades - Crew Review

Music Appreciation Book 2: for the Middle Grades from Zeezok Publishing will introduce students to seven great men who devoted their lives to composing and performing amazing pieces of music. Music Appreciation Book 2 includes one Student Book and the following nine composer biographies: Frederic Chopin Early Years, Frederic Chopin Later Years, Robert Schumann and Mascot Ziff, Adventures of Richard Wagner, Stephen Foster and His Little Dog Tray, The Young Brahms, The Story of Peter Tchaikovsky, Peter Tchaikovsky and the Nutcracker Ballet, and Edward MacDowell and His Cabin in the Pines. Each composer’s childhood and adult life are vividly described in these individual biographies. Every important incident is mentioned and every detail of the stories is true. Each book contains written music and delightful pictures throughout.

In the Student Book, there is a weekly outline for each composer followed by activity pages filled with comprehension questions, character qualities, tidbits of interest, vocabulary words to learn, family history, music theory, composer quiz, and so much more. The answer key follows each composer quiz. Students can choose to create a journaling notebook or a lapbook which will allow them to connect with the lives of these musicians in a hands-on way. Directions for each journal activity are provided throughout the Student Book. Students can purchase the lapbook separately to create one lapbook for all seven composers using easy-to-assemble pre-printed pages. Parents may also purchase a package of coloring pages that include over 80 professional drawn illustrations – so younger students can participate during the weekly activities.

Music Appreciation Book 2 includes QR codes which provide easy access to all the songs from the biographies. It also includes App Alerts which provide a variety of additional website links and interactive quizzes to enhance the learning experience.

Our family has especially enjoyed the added recipes throughout the Music Appreciation Book 2. We like trying new recipes, and it’s a great way to get a taste of culture from the life and time of each composer.

Our favorite composer from Music Appreciation Book 2 is Peter Tchaikovsky. Our family has a ballerina who has performed several times in The Nutcracker. Although the original production in St. Petersburg, Russia, on December 18, 1892 was not a success, The Nutcracker eventually gained worldwide popularity. In our opinion, this ballet contains some of Tchaikovsky’s finest compositions. The ballet Swan Lake is also another family favorite. This composition was written for Peter’s nieces and nephews; and it was very interesting to learn that it took him three years to finish the full length ballet.

Music Appreciation Book 2 is structured to be a thorough music appreciation program, with an introduction to music theory. It has been written to meet all the national standards for teaching grades 5-8 music appreciation. Through the individual biographies and accompanying activity book, students hear multiple songs by each classical composer, learn about their lives, and discover the history of their homeland; which promote an appreciation for classical music and the composer. Visit the Crew Blog to read what the Homeschool Review Crew has to say about Music Appreciation Book 2: for the Middle Grades from Zeezok Publishing.