Friday Funny--National Piano Month

Thoughtful Thursday--Because I'm happy...not.

I'm sure most of you have heard the song "Happy" by Pharrell Williams. It was featured in Despicable Me 2 and had spread like wild fire ever since. 

It has spread around the world. In fact, youths in Iran were arrested for making a video with them dancing to the song. 

It's a catchy little number that makes you want to "clap along."

But apparently I am the only person in the whole world who has any issues with the song. (The Iranians were arrested for the women dancing in public and with their heads uncovered, not because of the song.)

I mentioned to mija that there was one little phrase that bothered me. She wanted to know which one it was, but I didn't tell her. I wanted to see if she could figure it out.

She came back to me about a week laterand said, "I think I know the phrase. I think it's...

Yup, that's it. 

Happiness is NOT the truth. Jesus told us, "Thy (God) word is truth" (John 17:17). 

That may seem like a little thing, but we also know from Scripture, "A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump" (Gal. 5:9). It only takes a little thought to corrupt a whole belief system.

I'm proud of mija putting her critical thinking skill to the test and figuring out what I didn't like and why. She's still not sure that it's that important, but that part will come with maturity. 

So, what popular song irks you?

Friday Funny--Classical Opera family-style

It's bring your daughter to work day!!!

Friday Funny--Patriotic Cymbal Player for Flag Day

As someone said, "When it doubt, be patriotic."

Wednesday Websites: Share your birthday with someone famous

Of course, you're birthday is famous enough for belonging to you, but what if you also share the date with someone "famous-ier"?

You can find out with these sites.

Smithsonian: Which artist shares your birthday?

Celebrity Famous Birthdays

Famous Birthdays on this Day in History

Who Was Born on My Birthday?

Literary Birthdays Blog

Birthdays of Scientists

Friday Funny--Famous Composers

Wednesday Websites: Math, Music, Media, and More

I am way behind on Wednesday Websites, so I'm just sharing several different ones today.

Math Interactives--Puzzles, Games, and more--basic math facts to algebra, geometry, functions, etc.

Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra--by Carnegie Hall, learn about the different instruments in the orchestra

Jumpstart--offers worksheets on a variety of subjects and some online games.

Open Culture--free media on the web. Movies, courses, textbooks, apps, and more.

Wednesday Websites--Music

My post yesterday encouraged me to share more about some music sites I use or would like to use.


Classics for Kids has the timeline I used yesterday as well as a lot of information about the orchestra and instrument families. Many selections of music are available 

G Major Music Theory is a great resource for teaching music theory, piano, and more. There is a free music theory curriculum with flashcards. There is also free sheet music for various skill levels.

Songs for Teaching has all kinds of songs for all kinds of subjects. Want something about counting? How about Latin, grammar, or environmental science? So many different subjects with so many different songs. Remember, music is one of the best ways to memorize.

The Piano Student offers links to several other site. There are links for composer biographies, free sheet music, worksheets and even video music lessons.

Masterpiece--Famous Composer

Have a fast and easy music lesson today. Watch this cool video which mentions various composers. We then went online and looked at pictures of the composers mentioned. I mentioned that it is believed the Bach and Handel were Christians and about how many children Bach had (talk about quiver-full). We also checked out the timeline to see where they fit in history. 
Enjoy!!

The K5 Kids--Contemporary Christian for Kids

Are you concerned about the type of music your children are listening to? Do you want to keep your kids kids and not force them into the teen world too soon?

These have been concerns of mine. Then a few months ago, I came across The K5 Kids. The first thing I saw was a video. I was intrigued. Here watch for yourself!

I received Volumes I and II. Volume I has TobyMac songs while Volume II has Newsboy songs. In addition, each CD has bonus songs on it.

First, I'll get on my soapbox about CCM. A lot of it is shallow and some of it is doctrinally wrong. So, I'm very picky about about what is considered contemporary Christian music.

All that being said, I found the music choices acceptable. Maybe not all doctrinal powerhouses, but nothing wrong. 

What I do like about The K5 Kids is the fact that it is children's voices singing the songs. My daughter relates much more when she hears children singing it. She puts it in her portable CD play, put her headphones and walk around the house listening while she doing other things. (Visions of a future teenager haunt my mind.)

Speaking of mija, here is what she had to say about The K5 Kids.

Why do I like K5 Kids? I think they're cool. It can help  you have a better chance of becoming a Christian. If you're a Christian, it helps you learn more about God. I love K5 Kids.

(Isn't that a pretty nice paragraph?)

Now, when you go to the site to purchase them, there are choices to make. You can select the whole album for immediate download, a physical CD or you can even purchase the individual songs. If that weren't enough, you can even purchase lyric videos like the one above.

It's a little late for me to recommend the CD for stocking stuffers, but don't forget, Valentine's Day is coming up. They could be a great way to encourage LOVE for the Lord. Or what about in an Easter basket? Songs to remind them about the risen Savior.

I received free copies of the CDs in exchange for my honest review.

Sharing More Educational Websites including 2 Catechism sources

Here are some more sites I recently added to Helpful Homeschool Websites.

New York Philharmonic Kidzone.

Lufthansa-Virtual Pilot -- European Geography

Visual Fractions

The Fabulous Songbook

A-Z Worksheets -- free printable worksheets

Hamfests and Conventions Calendar

Project Wild

Education.com

New City Catechism

A Catechism for Girls and Boys

Have Fun with History

English for Everyone--printable language worksheets

"Not" Back-to-School Blog Hop---Curriculum Week (Part 2)

I couldn't finish everything I wanted to share on Tuesday, so today is part 2 of my "Not" Back-to-School Blog Hop Curriculum Week!  On Tuesday, I covered readin', writin', and 'rithmetic.  Today, I'm covering my electives.

History

Mija really enjoys history. I think it's because we teach it chronologically. That is why we have used The Story of the World: History for the Classical Child. I know that some are concerned because there can be a slight humanistic twinge to it, but I can more than bring God into His-tory on my own. I also am thankful for The Story of the World Activity Book . It helps me not have to re-invent the wheel. It has activities, review items, and even lists of books to go along with each chapter.  That's really important to me because I don't want mija to learn merely from a text book but from real books. Having the list makes my time on the library website much faster. (I reserve all the books I want online, so all I have to do it pick them up!)

Science

 I mentioned on Monday, I didn't have a science curriculum available for this year. Well, I was looking through all my downloads, and I came across something I'm going to use. There is a science program entitled, Supercharged Science. It's actually taught by Aurora Lipper, a real rocket scientist! We had signed up for a trial period of her program and while a member I downloaded a lot of her things! I have enough to definitely cover this year although I won't have access to her cool videos. So, between my downloads and the library, I think we have science covered.
Every so often, Aurora Lipper does FREE teleclass.  She has one coming up on Wednesday, August 15 at noon Pacific time.  We usually try to attend even if it's not a subject we are currently covering because she's great, it counts as hours, and did I mention it was Free? Here's the link to sign up for this upcoming teleclass on chemistry.

Bible

Bible really isn't just an elective. It permeates everything we do. While I have my eye on some "official" curriculum, we can't afford it write now, so these are some things we are using.

First, Awana. In case you don't know what Awana is, it is a Scripture memory program that gives prizes and awards for what the child accomplishes. Our church offers Awana. She attends the meetings and then we work on the verses at home.

Second. We've been using Lorrie Flem's Artists and Authors. I won't tell you  much about it right now because I'm going to be doing a review in a few weeks!

Art and Music and More

I don't have a regular curriculum with the subjects. I often integrate them with history or holidays. For instance, we're going to be learning about what was happening in Holland during the Protestant revolutions. We're going to learn about Rembrandt then! Free concert at the library. Music credit. If I can score a free piano, we'll start that again. Mija also does ballet. I count that as Performance Art although I probably could count as PE if I wanted to do. 

Latin

Yes, we are going to start Latin this year, but I'm planning on taking it slow and easy. Something I had purchased previously to use for this eventual even is Prima Latina. Haven't used it before. Seems simple enough. We'll see how it goes.  Why Latin? Because we follow the Classical Method, of course! There's more to it than that. Latin is the basis of a great deal of our English language thereby helping with spelling and learning the meanings of new words. It's also the basis of all the Latin languages which gives you a head up in learning them. (Although I don't think I'll ever understand French. There are just too many unspoken letters. Why put them there if you're not going to say them? Huh?)

So there you are. That's the basics of what I'm using this year.  Have you used any of them? Would you recommend them or something else?

Friday Funny--Righteous Ruth Rap by Liz Curtis Higgs

Come on and take a free ride...

Come on and take a free ride [free ride!]

Come on and sit here by my side

Come on and take a free ride

That's right. I'm taking a free ride. I'm looking for things to do this summer that are free. BUT I also want the activities to be educational. They don't need to be  "in your face" educational but more subtle. 
I still have about 100 hours I need to get done for this school year. What could be better than doing fun things to get the hours? I'll tell you what's better. Doing fun things that are FREE to get the hours.


Here are a few things we've done in the past couple of weeks that were educational on the sly.


Last weekend we went to see Team Shakespeare perform Romeo and Juliet. 
Team Shakespeare is the teen troupe for the Heart of America Shakespeare Festival. I had introduced Shakespeare to mija during history as we study the Elizabethan Age. We read stories from Beautiful Stories From Shakespeare and of course, she thoroughly studied the movie Gnomeo & Juliet! She really enjoyed it. She knew the story line and even critiqued some of the actors!

Of course, we'll be going to the regular Shakespeare Festival in just a few weeks. This year there are two rotating plays: A Midsummer Night's Dream and Antony and Cleopatra. 



We have a great museum that offers free family activities once a month and free children's activities throughout the summer. Yesterday, The Kansas City Museum did one of the Family Fun Days. The theme was different ways of telling your history or a story. She drew a family crest, did cave painting, drew a quilt telling the story of Romeo and Juliet and decorated a journal.  She enjoys the summer programs as well, so that will be some more free things to do this summer!
This is a picture of her at one of the events last year. The museum actually used this photo on their website!

The lady on the right is our friend from church!

Last night, we attended a free concert by the Northland Symphony Orchestra. It was only about an hour long, so perfect for young listeners. The pieces were all dance pieces from ballets, operas, etc. Mija was a little disappointed when no dancers appeared, but she got over it. While waiting for it to start, I explained to her the role of the concert master/1st violin. She looked forward to seeing the person come out. She was also asking about different instruments, so there will be some casual introduction to the orchestra going on today! Summertime is also a great time to see community bands for free.


So, that's what we've done so far. We only have one vehicle, so unfortunately, library activities and other things during the day are not going to happen for us this year!

Make a joyful noise--Singing Scripture and other Subjects

A few weeks ago, I posted about my church's ladies' retreat. One of the things that was discussed was Scripture memorization. 
It was reassuring to hear John Piper share that we'll forget 90% of what we memorize, but then we can just memorize it again!

We had a guest speaker, Karen Eppler, share about the Bible memory program she uses for children that involves singing. She even has a cool rebus for each verse. What a way to engage not only auditory but visual learners, as well. You can get her rebuses, tunes, and verses HERE.


Many studies have shown that setting things you want to memorize to music is a great way to help memorize it and retain it. This article mentions that fact as well as giving some ideas like using sign language or movement which would also encourage kinesthetic learners.


One of the easier ways is to bring a tune to Scripture or anything else you want to memorize is to set it to a tune you already know. That's called a "piggy-back" song. I LOVE PIGGY-BACK SONGS!! I'm not creative enough to come up with a new melody AND already knowing the tune means I don't have to memorize that  part.


For instance, my friend Susan (of Susan's Book Group) taught mija and me I Corinthians 13:4-8a ESV by singing it to "Silent Night". I taught my daughter the whole list of prepositions by singing them to the theme from the Micky Mouse Club. I got that here.


There are sooooo many sources of memory songs for both Bible and other subjects. I find a lot on YouTube.com. Sometimes I write them myself. If you're a little uncertain about doing it yourself HERE was a nice article with some suggestions on how to do it.


Just to show what can be done, here's mija singing the first part of the Declaration of Independence which I set to the tune of "This Old Man".  She was 4 at the time.

Hallelujah Chorus on Hand Bells---Awesome Blessing!

My favorite Christmas carol--O Holy Night

A Singing Christmas Tree

Since middle school, my favorite Christmas carol has been "O Holy Night."  Middle school was the place I heard it first.  You see, I was in "performing choir," and we did a singing Christmas tree performance every year.  One tradition was to have the best soprano and tenor at the top of the tree and sing "O Holy Night."  It was so beautiful

Here is Charlotte Church's version of the song:

After my salvation, the lyrics in addition to the music inspired me. I found it to be a call to true worship. 

But Sunday at church, I had my socks blessed right off.  Our music director had someone sing the original French with the literal translation posted on the overhead screen.  The depth of the truth proclaimed is amazing.

Midnight, Christians, it is the solemn hour,

When God-man descended to us

To erase the stain of original sin

And to end the wrath of His Father.

The entire world thrills with hope

On this night that gives it a Savior.

People kneel down, wait for your deliverance.

Christmas, Christmas, here is the Redeemer,

Christmas, Christmas, here is the Redeemer!

May the ardent light of our Faith

Guide us all to the cradle of the infant,

As in ancient times a brilliant star

Guided the Oriental kings there.

The King of Kings was born in a humble manger;

O mighty ones of today, proud of your greatness,

It is to your pride that God preaches.

Bow your heads before the Redeemer!

Bow your heads before the Redeemer!

The Redeemer has overcome every obstacle:

The Earth is free, and Heaven is open.

He sees a brother where there was only a slave,

Love unites those that iron had chained.

Who will tell Him of our gratitude,

For all of us He is born, He suffers and dies.

People stand up! Sing of your deliverance,

Christmas, Christmas, sing of the Redeemer,

Christmas, Christmas, sing of the Redeemer!

What Christmas carols have great meaning to you?

The Education of Missions

A couple of weeks ago, our church had it's missions emphasis week.  It's always a blessing to not only remember and offer special prayers for our missionaries but also to have the opportunity to meet some of them.

What was really cool was how God worked our history into the last Sunday of missions emphasis week!

In history, we were studying the Islamic invasion of Spain.  Long

story short, the Berber muslims came from the Morocco area into Spain across what we now call Gilbraltar.  The became known as the Moors.

Well, our missionary on Sunday was a Berber from Morocco who had accepted Christ.  He ended up in Spain which had once been Islamic and now reaches the lost in Northern Africa!  (I can't tell you his name because it could put his life and ministry in danger.)

Now, not everybody can have missionaries whose appearance prohibit the church doing the usual live-feed during the service, but everyone can include missions as part of their education!

Here's just a few ideas that come to mind:

1. Geography (I know, duh.)  Flags, capitals, etc.
2. Culture--Oh, and don't assume the culture issue.  Sure Spain has a general culture, but I know another missionary that reaches out to the Gypsies.  That's a whole different culture!
3. Language--Learn some basic phrases your missionary would use everyday.
4. Literature--What are some of the fairy tales or classics from the country?

5. Letter writing--Practice letter writing and penmanship skills.
6. Stamp collecting--We once had a missionary to Japan that would always include used stamps in their letters for those who collected.
7. Money--What's the money like there? What's the current excange rate and how does that work?  Why would a family of four serving in Japan proabably need more support than serving in Mexico?
8. Art--Who are some of the famous artists from that country.
9. Music--What's the traditional music? 
10. Holidays--What are some special holidays they celebrate OR what special ways do they celebrate the same holidays you do?
11. Food--We used to arrange prayer dinners at a church we used to attend.  We had food that was from the country we were covering, decorated, and then prayed for our missionaries and the country.
12. Fellowship--Nothing makes praying and learning about missionaries easier than getting to know them.  Invite for dinner or dessert when they are in town.  Get on their regular prayer letter list.
13. Service--In what ways can you minister to them on the field?  Save all the money from not drinking soda pop for a month to donate to a well to be built.  Pass on your homeschool curriculum to a missionary homeschooling on the field.
14. History--It meant a lot more to hear from our missionary when we knew the history of the peoples and countries involved.

15. Mileage/Measurement--Distance they have to travel from one place to another.  Which missionary is the furthest and which the nearest?  Do they use the metric system?  Do some conversions?

16. Architecture--Why are those Roman Roads everywhere?  ;-)

17. Astronomy--This would be really cool if they lived in a different hemisphere.  My missionary friend and their church members in Australia didn't get much out of Comet Hale-Bopp in 1997 since it wasn't seen there.

18. Seasons--Again, totally different in northern to southern hemispheres.  Why?

Okay, so that's off the top of my head.  What are your ideas?

Friday Funny

I'm not a cat person, but this is great!



The Youtube description reads: For cat lovers - and Gioachino Rossini lovers - everywhere, this is one of the better renditions of Duetto buffo di due gatti (Humorous Duet for Two Cats), which was likely written not by Rossini but by Robert Lucas de Pearsall and based on Rossini's 1816 opera Otello.

See you can have your fun and education, too! 

A couple of free curricula

I've come across a couple of free curricula that I want to share.  One is for music and the other is for radio which would include science and math.  I haven't used them, but they sure look like great resources.  Did I mention they were  FREE?  ;-)

The music curriculum is located here.  It has a workbook broken down into chapters and virtual flash cards.  I would say the workbook is good basic information but not for young learners, but the virtual flash cards would be great for any age.



Used with permission.



The radio curriculum is made by ARRL The National Association for Amateur Radio and is located HERE under ARRL ETP Curriculum Guide.  The first lesson will definitely catch their attention..."Where's the remote?!?"  (We just did this in home, and we weren't even doing the lesson!)  The site even has a store, but I'm sure you could also purchase any needed supplies from a place like Radio Shack.

If you've used either of these or have used other curriculum/sites for the same thing, please share!