Special Connection Homeschool

Well we had a really off school week.  Between Gess being sick and myself having a few issues, there really wasn't much schooling.  Gess had this really horrible stomach bug.  Here she was when it started. She would be feeling horrible and then it would pass, or so we thought.  A day or so later it would come back again, only to find her doing well the next day.  We finally went to the doctor and apparently that's just been going around. While Gess had a rotten Friday and Saturday, today she is outside enjoying this beautiful spring day.  It's the first day in awhile that has been both sunny and warm so I am glad she is feeling better.  In fact, as I began writing this blog she came in to ask for some help.  Can you see the problem? You have to look above her head. She had a hula hoop and a ball stuck in the tree.  Daddy came to the rescue and got them down!  I am hoping this week will be better health wise because we ...

Here are some FREE Kindle books for your kids to enjoy and hopefully learn something too! I ncredible Baby Turtles: Fun Animal Book for Kids with Facts and Incredible Photos Baby Animals - A Rhyming Picture Book Science Candy (Candy School) Division Math Skills Challenge (Math Challenge Series)

My work in missions and the church has allowed me the opportunity to minister to various types of individuals and families.  I find that people who end up in poverty, at least here in America, often do so because of bad choices or decisions they have made.  These decisions are bad in the sense that they are not beneficial, not that they are actually evil.  Yes, there are those who end up in poverty because of alcoholism, drugs, and crime but often the decisions are just poor ones. A family can end up homeless simply because they rented a house or apartment that is beyond their means.  They made the wrong choice in choosing a home.  It wasn't bad to want that nicer or larger home for their family but it was a bad choice because they couldn't afford it.  After months of getting behind on their bills they ultimately can end up evicted and on the street.  That certainly is bad. There are tons of choices that families make each day that affect their lif...

I am not a fan of "Earth Day" as it seems to me to be a celebration of "Mother Nature" and the earth as if it exists apart from God.  While I do not consider myself an "environmentalist"  I have over the last few years began to be more conscientious about how I care for the environment.  No Christian should really be able to say that it doesn't matter.  While recycling may not be the end all answers to "saving the earth" it is a wise and caring thing to do.  Is it really fair to fill up our land fills with disposable junk simply because we are in too much of a hurry to use anything else? WMU stands for Women's Missionary Union and I am the leader of one of these groups in my local church.  Their focus for the last 2 years has been Project HELP: Human Exploitation which covers everything from human trafficking to bullying and also covers the exploitation of natural resources for personal gain .  Yes, pollution, land destruction and dep...

Last summer I got an Android tablet and I am loving it.  While I have a few games and things we play on it, I mostly use it as an Ebook reader.  Ever since I got my Kindle app I have been getting tons of free books.  One of the lovely ladies I know from the Schoolhouse Review Crew has compiled a great list of FREE Kindle books for kids .  There has to be at least 100 books listed and she has them organized into several categories.  These are available to anyone who has a Kindle or on any device that has a Kindle app.  If you are looking for some good books for your kids you will want to check out Marcy's blog, Ben and Me to find some great FREE Kindle books for kids !

We had the neatest experience a couple of weeks ago.  A local farm hosted an event and had the public in to view the shearing of their sheep.  I am always up for trying new things so Gess and I went.  It was really interesting. First he had to grab the sheep, poor thing.  Now that he has him held properly he is ready to shear. He has special shoes, or should I say moccasins, to hold him in place.  See how the toe is bent up with those ridges?  Then the cutting begins.  And here you have a sheared sheep! Look at how much wool came off!  This will be sold and used in making clothing and other items.  The black is the cheapest color that sells. Gess really enjoyed watching, even when they fought pretty hard and scratched up the man quite a bit.  Gess watched for an entire 40 minutes before wanting to do anything else.  The kids romping on the bail of hay finally drew her away. While we were the...

Our country is facing yet another horrible tragedy.  Hearing that some of the victims are yet again children is so stunning.  I have few words to say.  Why are people angry enough and evil enough to kill innocent people?  As a Christian who believes firmly that every Word of the Bible is true, I know that evil exists in the world.  Some refuse to see that.  If the bombings turn out to be a domestic act, it will be blamed on mental illness.  If it is found to be a terrorist attack, it will be blamed on "religion" without regard to the fact that not all religions are the same.  The Truth Project is an excellent resource in preparing Christians to equip themselves for their walk.  Today they released a segment from that series that really speaks to what is at the root of the problem.  How did we get here ?  How did we get to a place where people are murdering people?  Where violence is rampant?  Where death is happening all ...

By now you all know what a great reader Gess is.  Even though she has Down syndrome and struggles in math, she greatly excels in reading.  While she is a great reader she still struggles with comprehension.  She understands the story well enough to enjoy it but she does not always get every detail like most people would.  When I had the opportunity to review the literature guides Progeny Press had to offer I thought it would be a perfect time to start training Gess how to look beyond the text of the page. For the purpose of our review we were given The Hall of Doors: Dragon's Hoard Book and Study Guide . The Hall of Doors: Dragon's Hoard is geared towards students in 2nd through 4th grade.  With Gess' special needs I am always concerned about how easy the actual book will be for her to physically read.  While she can read and understand the words, sometimes the font is too small and crammed together and requires her to use tools such as a magni...

Knowledge Quest is a company that focuses on teaching history in a way that really connects the student with the events of our past.  Last year I had the pleasure of reviewing their TimeMaps which was a really great tool for that purpose.  This year I reviewed one of their history resources that really helped Gess engage in and get inspired by the lesson.  It was an enchanting telling of the story of Sacagawea .  Because of her special needs, Gess has a really hard time relating to history from text books, documentaries and yes, sometimes even maps.  Thanks to Knowledge Quest we found out that stories can teach history too. For the purpose of our review we were given a PDF copy of Knowledge Quest's latest completed saga Sacagawea (Brave Explorers Every Child Should Know) . Sacagawea (Brave Explorers Every Child Should Know) is an interactive historical novel about the life of Sacagawea and her involvement with the Lewis and Clark expedition.  ...

I know I have mentioned parts of Do2Learn in other posts but I felt it would be good to have one just about them.   Do2Learn is a tremendous resource for kids with special needs and much of it is FREE.  I particularly love their safety songs .  These were a great tool in helping Gess learn how to walk safely down the street and stay in the yard among other things. Gess is a bit older now and is getting more capable of exercising her freedom however she is still required to stay in the yard.  She came in the other day and was so proud when the ball went over the fence and she left the yard to get it all by herself.  We did tell her we were glad she did so safely and that she came right back, but that she should still ask permission first. So, to remind her we went back to these videos and reviewed the safety rules for staying in the yard .  Staying in the yard is one of the safety videos you get at Do2Learn .  It's a catchy, though childish tun...

I wanted to share this video that explains more eloquently then I did yesterday the story of the Romeike's struggle and how you can help.  I beg you to watch and respond if you feel led.

Have you heard about the plight of the Romeike family?  If not you need to.  The Romeike family were persecuted in Germany simply for homeschooling their children.  Yep, that is right.  Homeschooling is illegal in Germany.  The Romeike family had one option, public school or have their children taken away from them for wanting to provide their education themselves.  So they did what most any family would do, find a way to practice their freedom.  To do that they came to America.  I was so excited when I heard that the Romeike family was granted asylum and allowed to stay and homeschool their family freely here in the USA.  But they received stunning news.  The Obama administration decided to OPPOSE their asylum ruling and now is threatening to overturn it because they claim that the right to homeschool is not basic right and therefore not worth granting asylum for!  This is not only bad news for the Romeike family, it is bad ne...

We were super excited when we were chosen to review Supercharged Science !  You all know by now that my Gess is a little scientist.  She loves and adores anything scientific, especially if it involves hands on experiments and research.  With science being my least favorite subject, I love finding curriculum that does all the work for you. Supercharged Science offers both of those things. For the purpose of my review I was given a year subscription to the entire e-Science Online Learning Program . This K-12 learning program has over 20 units covering physical science, chemistry, life science and biology with tons of hands on experiments.  Each unit can be worked alone and comes with lesson plans, getting started notes, highlights, text readings, videos that teach the experiments or concepts and plenty of exercises for the child to answer at the end of each unit plus so much more.  Here is how it works. Supercharged Science can be used two ways. ...