V is for Variety

The last few years I have tried to move our studies in more of a Classical direction as I truly feel there is value to that method and form. (It is not my intent to argue what is/ isn't a Classical education or which method has greater value here). In my study and interpretation of the method it is very rigorous and demanding of the learner and my young learners have shown me what they think of hard work!  :) So while I may try, I have come to the conclusion for this point in time that it may not be beneficial to fight to implement a fully Classical curriculum and method. 

Thus comes V for variety...

I am not budging on the need for learning Latin or narration and summarization.  But I do not make narration something we have to do everyday. I also have been following my children's interests in Science, rather than a set yearly schedule.  We are also just now starting World History as my daughter is 5th grade age. 

We also do some lapbooking, an activity many Classical devotees do not feel is worth the time. I feel an activity like lapbooking might make a less than pleasant subject a little more tolerable. 

We also do some kinestic activities; table work is tiring after a while.  Hands and arms get tired of writing and behinds don't fare well on hard chairs for long. So sometimes I will break out the foam letter mats, assemble them in alphabetical order and  jumping from letter to letter will be spelling practice for the day. Words may also be written in sidewalk chalk if the weather is nice.

On the rare occasion we may drop just about all the regular subjects and do a Unit type study for several days or a week.  

We also make time in the schedule to attend field trips or homeschool days at local museums and libraries when they occur. 

I also make sure we have some logic/logical thinking practice several times a week.  Right now this often takes the form of puzzles to solve or mysteries to unravel, but it is good practice and preparation for higher level logic and reasoning. 

Last academic year and again this year I have been privileged to serve on the TOS Homeschool Crew. With the Crew I have the opportunity to use a variety of educational tools and then share their merits with others via blogging. That certainly is variety in itself.  Having the opportunity to use many different materials definitely

adds variety to our academic plans.

So I guess this is all to say that while I admire and believe whole heartedly in the value of a Classically education, the generally accepted model is too much for me to swallow and we need to inject some VARIETY into our days and making learning something unexpected and not as difficult or demanding.

Thanks to Dawn at 5 Kids and a Dog for hosting ABC's of Homeschooling!

Homeschool Mothers Journal Weekly Review 9/4

In my life this week…

I received word that I passed the Certification exams for Bringing Baby Home.  This was a several day class I attended the first part of August and then I had to take a 2+ hour online exam.  I am so relieved to have the hard part of it over, now I can present the workshop if I have the opportunity.

In our homeschool this week…

We focused on math.  I called it Math camp.  I explained a concept, the kiddos did a short worksheet so I knew they knew what they were doing and then they played some games.

I am inspired by…

Not a whole lot right now.  It has taken a lot of time for me to get motivated to write this post.  One of my big motivators for actually writing is I know my Mom will be interested in seeing what we are up to!

Places we’re going and people we’re seeing…

We stayed at home a lot this week. We made a quick stop at the library.  Went to the grocery store.  Went to Home Depot for their kids Workshop on Saturday.

What’s working/not working for us…

The heat.  It was hot again this week. Like hot as in we broke record high temperatures for 4 days this week.  All of those new record highs were over 100.  Yuck!

Math camp went well for us.  I have a better idea where both of my kiddos stand on their math abilities and it was a relatively painless way to pick up after having a more relaxing summer.  We will have to spend some time on basic facts in the first few weeks.

Things I’m working on…

Preparing to start our regular curriculum this next week.  I also need to get back to working on my Christmas presents and make some progress going through things in my basement.

I’m reading…

Living Large on Less  

I’m cooking…

Yesterday I made homemade chicken fingers.

Throughout the week we also had burgers, chicken ceasar salad.  I am in a menu rut.  I need to find some new things that are inexpensive to make.

Nature Nuts New TOS Review

Wise Alec Nature Nuts Travel Game and Expansion set

                                                          http://www.griddlygames.com/



Nature Nuts can be purchased online or in local stores.  A listing of retailers can be found at the Griddly Games website.                    Suggested Retail Price $14.99



Griddley Games is also home to the Wise Alec Trivia game as well as other expansion sets/ travel games.  The other expansion sets feature sports and civilization themes.

Ages 8 and up
 

 As a family we really enjoy playing games, so when members of The Old Schoolhouse Homeschool Crew  recently had the privilege to use and review Wise Alec Nature Nuts card game I was thrilled.  My children were also very excited to play the game.  We have many games, including trivia games, but not many science or nature games.  So this was great for us to be able to try. Nature Nuts is a card game which comes in its own handy box featuring a magnetic closure.  Perfect for on the go game playing. All the cards and die fit nicely in the box. The directions are printed on the inside flap, which means no more lost directions.


Nature Nuts can be played with the board in the game Wise Alec or on its own as a trivia game.  You will find cards featuring the science topics of Animals, Plants, and Earth.  There is also a deck of Wise Alec Cards. Each of these decks has their own section inside the box.

• The animal cards feature questions about all kinds of animals and their habitats, their body design, habits, and what different groups of animals are called.  For example a group of kangaroos is called a troop or mob.

• The Plant cards have subjects such as the parts of plants, types of plants and where they grow, plant processes and plants benefits.

• The Earth cards features topics such as rocks and minerals, seasons, earth elements, astronomy as it relates to the earth, and some geographic features such as springs. 

Each of these cards has two questions: one with a 3 point value and and another with a 7 point value. 

The Wise Alec cards are where the fun with this game really begins.  From this deck of cards a player maybe instructed to do animal impressions, list a certain number of items in a category which all begin with the same letter, or perform a physical fitness activity.  For the most part these types of cards give you points to add to your total.  However, some Wise Alec cards subtract from your points.  These may say you forgot to recycle or mixed your compost or something similar which is not environmentally friendly.

The included die has color coded sides which direct the player to which card category to choose.  Also on the die is a color which allows the player on the right to choose your subject and another color which allows you to pick any category you wish.

Nature Nuts is a game which can be enjoyed by the whole family.  The rules allow flexibility for point tallying by suggesting different goals based on age or setting a time limit for the length of the game.  Information specific to Nature Nuts can be found at Griddley Games website through this link.

My thoughts about Nature Nuts

My 7 and 10 year old really enjoy this game.  The playing of it is easy enough that they are able to play it together themselves.  Some of the words did trip up the 7 year old, but he was certainly able to handle it content wise.  We've also enjoyed it as a family.  The option of choosing difficulty level really helps make it a game which puts the adults on the same level as the children.  When our family played we would sometimes read the higher point value question for the children if we knew it was something they knew.  Overall, I would say the questions are appropriately labelled with the point values. I really appreciate this in a trivia game.  So many trivia games don't have this kind of choice in questions and make it difficult for families to play together.  Nature Nuts levels the playing field for trivia game playing families.

Wise Alec Nature Nuts uses a lot of science specific vocabulary.  Both of my children are really interested in science, and this is a great resource for helping them learn additional terms and meanings in a fun manner. It has been challenging to find resources which include nature vocabulary in an exciting manner, so Nature Nuts has been a great resource to help fill in that gap.

I was a little disappointed in the quality of the cards.  They don't seem to be as sturdy as many other game cards.  It is also a little difficult to get them out of the compartments in the box.  However, this inconvenience would not stop me from purchasing the full board game or other expansion sets.

To see what other Crew Members had to saw about Nature Nuts and Civilize This you may check out the Crew Blog.

Disclaimer:  As a member of the TOS Homeschool Crew I was given a Nature Nuts game set to use with my family for the purpose of writing this review.  I have not been compensated in any other manner and all opinions expressed here are solely my own.