Noeo Science Biology 1...the Journey Continues

Everything pictured above comes with the Biology 1 curriculum bundle.

So a few months back, I shared a little about our homeschool science curriculum, Noeo, here. We had not gotten far into the curriculum at the time, but were really enjoying it. Several months later, I can say with much more certainty than I did before: We will use Noeo Science to carry us all the way through our homeschool journey! It is the perfect fit for our family as J's love of reading and hands on activities, takes center stage with Noeo.

Since I last posted, we have looked at fungi and Louis Pasteur, the ocean habitat, all about fish, the cactus habitat, and just wrapped up our butterfly and moth studies. J is very much looking forward to the wood habitat starting this week.

J carried out an awesome experiment with bacteria and antibiotics after reading all about Louis Pasteur's discoveries. Everything we needed for the experiment was included, with the exception of our saliva...such a pain free way to conduct science experiments in your homeschool classroom!

Most of the other topics we have studied recently don't have big corresponding experiments, so I have supplemented with lots of fun arts and crafts projects and helpful worksheets, diagrams, and other activities to keep the learning environment exciting.

We even include little bro in some of the art activities!

J's note taking and retention skills have greatly improved throughout the year, thanks to the printable resources provided on their website. Most days, he enjoys drawing a picture about our daily reading and writing down interesting facts and important definitions to add to his notebook.

The literature chosen to accompany the Noeo curriculum, also keeps the learning experience from becoming boring. They are fun, colorful, and unbelievably informative for all elementary aged students. J often comes to ask if he can read through the books we have already covered! I love that he can't get enough of all areas of science, and Noeo has definitely been a contributing factor to that this year.

Perhaps the most significant influence Noeo science curriculum has provided, is J's new constant awareness of science, nature, and God's creation all around us. Spring is a great time to see nature at its best in Central Texas, and J is always on the lookout for the next great camera snapshot of nature. I am so thankful to have found such a perfect curriculum fit for our family right off the bat!

J wants a butterfly field guide to take on walks now.

I know it is that time of year to begin deciding on curriculum and plans for the next school year...I would highly encourage you to look into the Noeo Science options! There is curriculum for elementary, middle, and high school students that will provide you a complete stress free year of enjoyable and highly educational science.

Go here to browse their options and place your order today: http://www.noeoscience.com/!

Be Blessed,

Whit

Walking With Faith

 Photo Credit

 Hello dear friends and readers!  TGIF :)  I know things have been rather quiet around here (and everywhere else) as of late, but sometimes, being quiet is the best thing.  I am not a perfect person, and my life is not the perfect pretty picture...just like many of you I am sure.  This time, when problems hit, I let it cripple me instead of pushing through it with the typical smile and strong face.  I was not walking with Faith.

We sat down to read on Monday in "Missionary Stories With the Millers" (as a part of our GeoMatters Galloping the Globe Curriculum) and this week our chapter and scripture, focused on Faith.  {Didn't realize that coming in to the week, as the lesson plans were written several weeks back.}

            Luke 8:24-25 (ish) 

He got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waters; the storm subsided, 

and all was calm..."Where is your faith?" he asked his disciples.

"Where has my Faith been?" I instantly began wondering to myself while discussing this with J.  I needed that lesson this week more than anyone...funny how God works with his word sometimes.  It was still a rough week, but I have also discovered a lot of things:

1.  I truly have some incredible friends, that have really shown up right "on time".

(you know who you are)

2.  My two sweet boys can make anything better...except when the terrible 2's are more prevalent :)

3.  I am still a strong woman; I just have to remind myself a couple times daily.

4.  Having true Faith, will carry you through anything.

For me, my Faith comes from God...and when I walk with that Faith, I can conquer the world! 

So no matter what gets thrown my way this weekend, I am going to be strong in my Faith.  It's time to get over myself, and get back to normal.  The next few weeks are full of fun with  L's 2nd birthday celebration, and then my 30th and Mother's Day falling on the same day!!  Lots to be celebrating and thankful for in the upcoming weeks.  Have a wonderful weekend, and...

Be Blessed,

Whit

Mother’s Day $250 CASH Giveaway!

Here at Whit's World we are excited to collaborate with A Family Village to celebrate YOU or your Mom. We have teamed up with our closest 25 friends to bring you a fun cash giveaway!

One lucky winner will win $250 to be deposited directly into their PayPal account!! Awesome right?

This giveaway is sponsored by 25 incredible businesses and blogs – and you will love getting the chance to check them out.

To enter, you are REQUIRED to simply follow each of the steps using the Rafflecopter form below (keep scrolling down)! Also, go check out the fabulous business owners and bloggers involved in this event.

Giveaway starts 4/22 at 12:01 am EST and ends 5/13/12 at 12:01am EST. Good Luck!

We Love our Readers, You deserve to win $250!

The cash giveaway is open to all worldwide (paid in US dollars) and will be paid directly into your PayPal account.

This giveaway is brought to you by:

Austin Couponing

Family Volley

Embracing Life, Love & Art

Danielle Elwood Dot Com

FoodieGems

Mentor Leadership Team

Sadie: The Paper Crown Princess

Keep it Complicated

R We There Yet Mom?

A String of Pearls

Kids Kitchen

Domestic Disturbia

365 Things To Do

A Star in My Own Universe

Little Boo Creations

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Whit’s World

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Food Good, Laundry Bad

With Just a Bit of Magic

cafe mocha reflections

Young Work At Home Moms

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Good Luck and Be Blessed!

Whit

Error Free Writing

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I'm gonna get up on my little grammar soapbox today, because I think you should all know about a fabulous resource available (this could really be every writer's right hand man). As a blogger, social media junkie, and a home school mom, I constantly assume the role of grammar checker! Misspelled words and improper grammar, drives me batty. I am by no means perfect, but I have my proof reading techniques, and try to put out error free blog posts.

I know that most days it's a miracle to even get a post up, but we should never be in too big of a hurry to not check and recheck our work before we hit Publish. I take a systematic approach to proof reading. First, I look for places I can enhance or re-word to improve the post (a lot of times I need to edit a lot). Next, I comb through my writing several times with a spelling check. Finally, I revise for any grammar or punctuation errors. Definitely takes a little extra time, but worth the product in the end!

I watch and cringe every week on Facebook and Twitter, as person after person uses the wrong form of THEIR, THERE, and THEY'RE!! IT'S and ITS seems to be a confusing one as well. My dear bloggy friend Evin, over at Food Good Laundry Bad, stared at WHOSE and WHO's the other day until she had herself baffled and called in reinforcements (I love that she took that extra time we talked about to put out error free work!). I constantly notice mistakes when reading some of my favorite bloggers and even some of those "big" bloggers.

Enter Grammarly, a fool proof way to check your writing...and a multi-purpose tool for my fellow homeschool readers as well! Grammarly is the perfect resource for students, teachers, bloggers and writers as it is customizable for your writing needs. Grammarly covers everything I go over in my systematic proof reading approach, plus some, like a plagiarism checker. Another fabulous feature of Grammarly, you will not only learn what to fix, but how and why so you learn from your mistakes. I can see this resource saving me all kinds of time in the future! You can sign up today for a 7 day free trial to see if it's something that works to improve your writing. I would highly recommend it...let's begin a proper grammar movement friends!

Be Blessed,

Whit

Too Much Easter Fun

Easter 2012 was more fun than any of us could have imagined! The boys are both at such fun ages (and I love that my big boy still believes!)  Our festivities began Saturday night with a little egg dyeing fun. L was so excited that he couldn't stop shaking for the first 20 minutes. We spent a total of 2 hours making masterpieces and enjoying the quality time together. Everyone was quite proud when we finished...way past bedtime :)

Of course, Easter morning was even more exciting though! The Easter bunny brought them some really awesome toys (he had more fun shopping than giving this time around) that we couldn't open fast enough. I heard sounds of raging Avenger and Star Wars battles floating down the hallway from the big boy's room. The little one has a new best friend, Mack, from Disney's "Cars" cannot leave his side. We knew this was on his wish list, but seriously, he could have gotten nothing else all day, and been a happy camper.

Then, it was time to head outside for the egg hunt! J has done this a time or two, so he took right off. L was slightly more cautious at first. It took him a minute, but he soon joined on the fun, even finding a hard one his brother passed over a time or two. If the egg didn't shake though, it go thrown back on the ground. All those eggs he worked so hard dyeing late the night before, we're no useless because there wasn't anything inside of them! J however, didn't mind the extra loot in his basket.

We of course spent some time both nights discussing why we truly celebrate Easter...it has nothing to do with eggs or a bunny, that's for sure. Sunday morning we made resurrection rolls (thank you Pinterest) and read in John about the crucifixion, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.


Nothing brings us more joy, than bringing joy to our children. This weekend definitely accomplished that. I feel very blessed starting my week out today. He is risen!

Be Blessed,

Whit

Wordless Wednesday: A Passion for Trains

A few weeks back, we took an impromptu homeschool field trip day to support a local homeschool mom in tremendous need. Along the road home, we stopped at the train museum in Rockdale...it wasn't open to the public that day, but the boys were in awe just seeing it up close. Neither one of them have stopped talking about it.

                              

They were worn out for days after this trip, but it was definitely worth all the fun we had!

Be Blessed,

Whit

Taking a Traditional Summer?

I cannot believe that it is April already...even J commented in school this morning that time is going by so fast. When we began our school year back in September, I was sure that when May rolled around we would all be ready for summer. Don't get me wrong, we are so ready for swimming and hiking and all the fun that Austin offers during these months...but, I feel like we are just now getting into such a good groove in our homeschool classroom. I don't want to have to start over again come fall and have several months of a frustrating transitional period again (and trust me, with J, any major changes in schedules and routines, always leads to difficult transitional periods...it's inevitable.)

So what if we don't take the summer completely off? What if we take it a little easier and only do a couple subjects a week around going and enjoying summer fun? We unfortunately are not planning a vacation again this year. Everyone in Central Texas is preparing for a brutally hot summer (we didn't really have a winter). That is sure to mean a lot of time spent indoors staying cool during the heat of the day. Leaving this time unstructured, tends to lead to trouble and boredom rather quickly in J's world. This is not good for anyone!

I would not be taking his summer away, just keeping his brain engaged while having lots of fun in the sun all summer too. It is now a conversation with a very open dialogue in our home. We are carefully discussing and weighing out all the pros and cons of each decision. That is one of the fabulous things about homeschooling...you can do it however it works for your family! And, we have a couple more months here to decide.

I would love to know if anyone has had similar conversations in their homes. How long of a summer do you take in your homeschool? Weigh in folks, what's your opinion?

Be Blessed,
Whit

Photo credit: hudsontaylor from Photobucket

It Was Bound to Happen

I have mentioned before, that there was a time, not so long ago, that I did not belong in a kitchen. I remember my mother (whose kitchen skills are not that of Rachael Ray either) embarrassing me the first time she met the hubby. We had him over for dinner and she repeatedly told me to just stay out of the kitchen, she had it all under control! He soon learned that she was right. I could not be trusted with a measurement, a stir, and most definitely not a knife. I was a total klutz in the kitchen.

Flash forward to today. I am now stay at home mom extraordinaire, and cannot wait to unveil my latest dinner masterpiece to some eagerly awaiting boys. My son and husband never turn their head up at any of our menu options these days, and I continue to get braver and braver behind the stove.
Some of their favorites: Pepperocini beef; Baked ziti; Green chile chicken enchiladas; Coconut crusted chicken and shrimp...lots and lots of failures finally started turning into taste bud pleasers. (I think I'll start sharing some of my favorite recipes once I make the move to Wordpress shortly!)

What's perhaps even more surprising, is the fact I had not been severely injured while cooking...until now. I have had lots of close calls with sharp knifes and more brainless moments with no pot holders than you could imagine. Then, on Thursday night, I made the ultimate dummie cooking mistake involving very hot cooking grease. I had entirely too much cooking oil in the pan, and when I went to throw a 1.5 lb. piece of flank steak into the flaming hot skillet, I dropped it way too quickly. Hot grease flew up my entire right arm...it honestly took me a minute to realize what had happened because the initial pain sent me into a brief shock. I silently walked into the bathroom where my hubby was bathing the little guy. He immediately saw and did not need to ask anymore questions. Fortunately, in a way, he experiences this sort of thing enough to have everything on hand to tend to the burn. Today, it is healing nicely, but still hurts like nobody's business!!! I will be happy to regain full use of my right hand, but the healing process will be eventual I have a feeling. Ironically enough, I have found coconut oil to be the most helpful ointment thus far.

I have learned many lessons in the kitchen throughout my journey to domestication thanks to my hubby and Martha Stewart and Rachael Ray, etc, but this is one lesson that I will never forget! (Someday I'll have to share the story about my mom catching on fire along with the Thanksgiving turkey so you can understand where this curse came from, haha.)

What are some helpful kitchen hints that you can pass on? Have you had any mishaps of equal proportions in the kitchen?

Have a terrific Monday loves, and...

Be Blessed,

Whit