Wonderful Books

I have found several series of books that I feel are wonderful tools for both Core and Love of Learning phases.  I thought I'd share them here in case there's someone who's interested.  I will cover these books over the next few posts.

I'll start with some wonderful Core Phase books...

The first I'd like to share, is actually an author. She has many different series available. The author is Jane B Moncure. I personally love her "classic/vintage" books, though I have a few of the more current, reprinted versions as well.

Here is her website http://www.janebelkmoncure.com/fsrsbbhome.htm

These are some of the series I'm personally collecting by Moncure...

My First Steps to Math

These books go over basic counting skills with cute little rhyming words and adorable illustrations. I personally, as I stated before, like the original, first print of these books. The later prints seem to lose a little something that I like about the books. 

My First Steps to Reading

These are basic alphabet books with cute pics & rhymes.

Each book focuses on one letter of the alphabet.

Magic Castle Readers

These cute little books cover six different areas...

Language Arts, Social Science, Science, Creative Arts, Math, and Health-Safety.

Again, cute pics & rhymes.

Then there are the seasons books...

"Spring Is Here", "Summer Is Here", "Fall Is Here" and "Winter Is Here". 

These books are AWESOME because Moncure teamed up with Frances Hook, the illustrator.

Frances Hook is one of my favorite artists!! I absolutely LOVE her work and would pay

a large sum to own one of her original works.

Awesome pics and basic "season" information.

Fun little questions that the kids can answer as they go along.

I'm sure there are other books written by Moncure that I will add to our "Learners" shelf. But as for now, I'm focusing on completing these four series.

I do want to recommend going to thrift stores to find these books because that's where I've found most of my "classic/vintage" books. And you can't beat $1.00 for a wonderful book to add to your family's library.

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Still Learning & Understanding...

Since A Thomas Jefferson Education has so many layers to it, I find myself on a daily basis understanding more and more about it. Slowly I'm beginning to see how it works and where I need to adjust our home.

Recently I've come to see that I am still being too "scheduled", too "structured". It's just so hard to come from a "conveyor belt" back ground and not do the "conveyor belt" methods!  But I'm getting there...slow and steady!  By the time the twins are in Love of Learning Stage, I'm hopeful I'll have it all figured out!  :)

I'm starting to see the progress my children are making and I'm so pleased with that. And since I'm able to see their progress, I'm beginning to understand how simple things, like learning how to cook, to sew, to play with siblings, to play by yourself, to serve those around you, etc., etc., are all a major part of a wonderful Leadership Education!  I'm beginning to see it's not all "book smarts", in fact, that's a very tiny part, it's more about being a well-rounded individual in all areas of our lives. It's more about understanding the past so that we can have a brighter future. It's more about finding joy within our home & family so that the world can't steal it from us. It's all about the "eternal perspective", not just the here-and now...not just the "no-child-left-behind"....not just the "test scores".  

Ahhhhh...I'm getting it...I really am!!  :)

I'm so so so grateful for this education in our home. I only wish I could find someone in our area who was instituting the same education in their home...but I'm still keeping my fingers crossed!!

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Wonderful Blog Post abt TJEd...

This is a wonderful blog post about an LDS mother who has been using TJEd in her home for the last 10yrs!  If you want to see another mother's point of view...check it out!  :)

http://www.latter-dayhomeschooling.com/2011/11/what-is-thomas-jefferson-education.html


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The "Learners Closet"

One of the important tools in a TJEd family is the closet. In our home, we call it the "Learners Closet".

The special closet should be located within the family room area, if possible. Ours is just outside of our family room by a couple feet so it's still extremely convenient for the kids to access it. The items in the closet should be sorted by "phases". The Core Phase items should be on the lowest shelves and the Love of Learning Phase items should be on the upper shelves. That way the Core kids somewhat look forward to being "big enough" to get into the Love of Learning stuff as they stare at the higher shelves.

The closet should be filled with tons of educational toys/games and should only be accessed during "learning hours", which in our house is 10am-4pm. At four o'clock, the door is closed and the items within it are, for the most part, off limits. It keeps the items within the closet as "things to look forward to", which then helps the kids not to lose interest in them.

Some of the items in our Learners Closet are...

Core Phase: different types of blocks, Legos, puzzles, Leap Pad, animals, foods, tent, learning games...lots & lots of items for imaginary play!
Love of Learning Phase:  Love of Learners can use any item from Core Phase along with additional learning games (Monopoly, Boggle, Which Way USA, etc), flash cards, white boards, educational puzzles, WrapUps, play money, arts, crafts, math items, etc.


Here's a picture of our current "Learners Closet"...

It's not fully finished yet but I keep finding wonderful things to add to it. I believe within the next year, I should have it where I'd like it.  I'd like to have things such as....Lincoln Logs, more educational games, a "vehicles" tub, a "puppets" tub, and Tinker Toys (hopefully Santa will bring some of these items). In the perfect world, I'll also get that top shelf cleaned off and have that level full of Love of Learner's stuff as well!!  I can't wait!!

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Let's Read and Find Out Science

One of the best things I've came across by borrowing books from the local library is the "Let's Read and Find Out" science books. They come in levels 1 & 2 and are filled with lots of facts and fun experiments.

I initially had borrowed the "Volcanoes" book from this series from the library. I decided after reading it the first time that I wanted my own copy for our "Learners Book Shelf". I went on Amazon, of course, and found that there are MANY MANY books in this series!!

I ended up purchasing lots of these wonderful books instead of just the one I had initially went on there for. I did stay with the same author, which was Franklyn M Branley, but the series has several other authors. Now that we have all of Branley's books, I'm going to be branching out into the others.

I absolutely love how they use basic words and phrases to explain not so basic subjects. Both Hannah and Gabe love listening to me read these books. And my favorite part are the simple, fun experiments we can do directly after reading the book. I love to see the "ah-ha" moments on their faces as they connect what I had just read to what they're currently seeing. The "Oh I get it" look appears on their faces!!  Priceless!!

Needless to say, the kids will be getting several more of these for Chirstmas. I highly recommend these to EVERY mother out there...whether you're a homeschool family or not, these should be on your families book shelf!!

Check them out...you won't regret it!!!

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White Boards

I absolutely LOVE dry erase white boards and so do my kids!!

Since we are learning about our wonderful Nation's geography and our world around us, I invested in a white board that has the map of the U. S. on one side and a map of all the continents & oceans on the other.

The board is 11" x 16" and is very durable. Here's a pic of what each side looks like...

I purchased others as well, such as, "skeletal system", "division", "periodic table", "telling time", "basic place value" & "advanced place value". There are still several others that I want to invest in as each of the kids grow older.

I believe these whiteboards will last a long time and are a great tool for our TJEd home!

Here's the link if you're interested...
http://dryerase.com/


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Spanish

One of Hannah's goals from her current Six Month Goals is to begin learning Spanish. I have found several fun tools to help her with this goal. I have decided to give them to her as part of her birthday gifts, since knowledge is one of the greatest gifts!  I know she's gonna love them and I honestly believe that they will motivate her to "love to learn".

The products are...

Spanish BINGO! 

I purchased the "States BINGO" by this same company (which covers all the states, their capitals, their nicknames, & a fun fact about the state) and our family LOVES it!!  I think it's amazing how my 5yr old is picking up on the facts right along with his older sister.  I'm sure the same thing will happen when we start playing Spanish BINGO. It's amazing how many facts kids will pick up when they think they're just playing a game and having fun!!

Spanish Flashcards

I LOVE flashcards!! I think we have a set for almost every subject. Flashcards are so easy to use and it's amazing how many ways they can be used. The reason I chose this set of Spanish Flashcards is because they have the English/Spanish on one side and the picture on the other, allowing the child to guess then turn it over to see if they got it right. There are several sets that have the picture & the answer on the same side....not sure how you can memorize something with the answer's right there.

Spanish WrapsUps!

I purchased the "US States" WrapUps a little while back and Hannah really likes using them. I was THRILLED when I found that they also made Spanish WrapUps!!!  YIPPEE!!!  I know she'll dive right into these as soon as she gets them! The downfall?  Tapes?!?  Do they still make those??  Obviously they do!! 

 

I also invested in several computer programs for Beginning Spanish. I got a really good deal on all of them on Amazon.com.  I purchased all basic Spanish programs, which Gabe should be able to do shortly. If he's interested in learning Spanish, they'll be available for him as well.

I can't wait for Hannah's birthday!  I can't wait to see her reaction!!  I'll make sure I post a pic of  the big moment. It makes me so happy to see how Hannah is truly beginning to love to learn!  She enjoys gaining knowledge on subjects lots of subjects, especially the goals she's chosen for herself.

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