Book Review and Plan for the Week

The infamous Saxon Math- Level K

You can pretty much purchase Saxon Math from anywhere. I think Seton has the best price, but I could be wrong.

For the record, I have not tried any other Math program, I'm sticking with Saxon, because it works and Boo is happy with it.

What I like about it:

• Boo likes repetition, and it is repetitious, he thrived on the Meeting book
• It is scripted, though I do not always need it, it is nice to have on days I can't think
• It is fun, we all enjoyed the manipulatives
• No distracting pictures

On it's implementation:

• The meeting book could be skipped but I thought it helped with calendar skills
• I used the arrows in the meeting book to write whatever number Boo could count to. We then practiced counting to that number each month and then used the rest of the arrows for subsequent numbers
• Not all lessons need to be repeated twice
• More than one lesson can be done in a day without being overwhelming
• The program is more appropriate for a pre-schooler, 3-4.5 years old
• I never did the estimating activities later in the book
• some of the activities require practice, like skip counting, or even regular counting, for younger children

Plan for the Week

Language Arts:
OPG- Lesson 49,50(M) 51, 52 (T) 53, 54 (W) 55-56 (F) 57,58 (S)
FLL-Lesson 6 (M) 7 (T) 8 (W) 9 (F) 10 (S)
HW- Seton, extra practice- all week
MW- "O Sacrament Most Holy"-every day
CW- Continue practicing name- all week

Math:
Saxon, Lesson 6(M) 7 (T) 8 (W) 9 (F) (10) S

History:
SOTW Ch. part 1 and review questions from What is History and What is Archaeology, Make a family history book (M)

SOTW Ch 1, Part 2, review questions and cross references (T)

Cave Painting and Map activity (S)

Science:
Continue Bean Sprout experiment and observations for journal (M,T)

Begin Seed Needs experiment, continue Bean Sprout observation, read How and Acorn becomes a Tree or other library books (W)

Green Hour Challenge (TH)

Work on observation pages for experiment and finish any books borrowed from library (F, S)

Geography:
Practice US Geography- all week with wall map update on Monday
New Hampshire Map for US Notebook (T)
Maps, Charts and Graphs, Lesson 2 and continents review(F)
History Mapwork (S)

Art:
How to Draw Lesson (F)

PE:
Trips to park all week and possible Green Hour challenge on Thursday to be considered

Music:
Learn one Catholic hymn and listen to classical music- all week

Religion:
St. Joseph Baltimore Catechism- all week

Science and Living in God's World- Book Review

Book: Science and Living in God's World
Publisher: Our Lady of Victory

I ordered this book for kindergarten science.

Positive: The only positive aspect I can think of in regards to this material are the good intentions that probably went into creating it. The goal was to write a science book that would draw children in to the marvels of God's creation and His Goodness.

Negative:

• The topics included in this book are lightly touched upon and too broad
• The illustrations and pictures are not well done
• Requires kindergardeners to do simplified crossword puzzle, some activities are way above level K
• Few to little explaination
• Parent would probably have to do most of the writing for fill-in-the-blank exercises

I could find no practical use for this book in our home. The exercises are not realistic for children of this age and there are no experiments. It does not contain much in the way of information either. It does not offer any supplemental reading which might have redeemed it's usefulness. Weak science books like these make people think that Catholics are afraid of science or have some kind of disdain for it. I would also say that if you are not already teaching your child that this world is God's wonderful creation and the study of science is to know more about this wonderful world that God made for man, then as a Catholic, you may already be failing to understand the purpose of science. I think that is kind of expected for most Catholics to know and pass on to their children already.

Overall, I would say this book is not worth the investment. It would be better to find alternate materials or borrow books from the library.

A Year with God- Book Review

Title: A Year with God, Celebrating the Liturgical Year
Publisher: Catholic Heritage Curricula (Little Way Press) 2005

I own this book and am reviewing it because I am using it as an enrichment material for our religion lessons and for the ideas and crafts in relation to the Church year. We try to incorporate the feasts of the Church into our home life as much as possible.

Positive:

• This book is spiral bound, so it lays flat and it is easy to keep your place. I really like spiral bound books for their convenience.
• Permissions for reproduction among family members, plus they will give group permissions, so the book is a good investment
• Can be used for multiple ages, depending on creativity and skill I would say that anyone from young children to adults would enjoy the activities in this book
• Nice Catholic graphics for projects, like the Sacred Heart, angels etc. Wholesome illustrations
• Clear instructions and a wide variety of ideas for celebrations and parties to incorporate the liturgical year into home life
• Best part, to me at least, is the All Saint's Day section

Negative:

• Uses the Novus Ordo calendar, so adaptations have to be made for the parents. One example: No Time after Pentecost, instead "Ordinary Time."
• Quotes from liberal Novus Ordo personalities and sources
• Includes Novus Ordo saints
• References to Novus Ordo service that traditional Catholic families probably cannot relate to
• Uses a bit of fluffy language and themes that are common to the NO
• Does not incorporate the traditional abstinence and fasting laws or Ember days
• Reference to abortion, a topic that parents may not want to introduce to young children

Overall, this book can be great for following the Church year with some adaptations. It definitely is helpful in bringing the wonderful feasts of the Church into daily life and is an asset to any homeschool book collection. I think that this book is over-priced, I would either recommend sharing the cost with a friend or trying to find it used.